The Tenth Child Part 1
by c.legler
Summary: PART 3 OF 4 SERIES, AFTER 'THE RETURN OF THE LIGHT: A lost warrior returns from another dimension to find his entire world upside-down, and to find that old enemies sometimes reemerge with a vengeance, and with a powerful one-man-army at their side.
1. Late Night Visitor

**Author's Note to those just tuning in...who haven't read parts 1 and 2 to my series: Well hello there! This is a third installment of a four-part series, so for anything to make sense, I suggest you read the second part, 'Return of the Light', if you haven't already. For the most part, you can get by without having read the first part, 'The Fountain of Youth', but I advise you read that one as well, just so we're all on the same page. Or you can always just risk massive confusion...it's your choice! XD**

**Weeell...welcome back, my fellow TR fans!! It's good to be back, too. You know, I've been so bored lately without having anything to write. It's KILLING me!! But I'm very happy to finally post CHAPTER ONE of PART III!!! I know a lot of you were/are a bit skeptical about the idea of Lara being a mother, but trust me...I did my absolute best to work it flexibly into the story, alright? Have faith. I haven't let you down yet, have I? Sure, I've screwed with your heads a lot, but isn't that what makes a good story? XD**

Anyway...enough of my rambling! You guys came for the story, not for me! Read on!

**

* * *

  
**_Bright, flashing lights. Colorful streams of illumination. A mystical realm that never should've been breached in the first place. Lost hope._

What difference did any of it make? It had been so long – so long since any of them had returned. So long since any of them had felt the fleeting emotion of pain like they'd felt that day in those harrowing hours. So long since they'd had to fear for their lives and narrowly dodge an incoming bolt of green psychic energy, potentially dangerous enough to kill them instantly. It had all been so long.

Somehow, he was sure that he should've been the one left behind. He should've been the one to carry the sword, to carry the weight of the burden of victory. Victory didn't always come with a happy ending – anyone who was a hero knew that. Heroes were the ones who could hold on long enough, even as pain consumed their entire being. Heroes were the ones who fought the enemy even in their greatest moments of fear. Heroes knew that in the end, there wasn't necessarily going to be the typical 'happily-ever-after' type of scene that people expected. Victory was often hollow, often painful, and worse than anyone would expect, it was often a burden.

_Holograms. Images. Flashbacks. Filmstrips. All of it was designed to weaken them, and to some extent, it had. It had destroyed them, and left them in hollow pieces._

Victory, worse than anyone would expect, was often a burden. A heavy burden. So you saved the world – what about it? You were the one who would have to carry the painful memories on your shoulders. You were the one who would have to remember all that had happened. It's human nature to desire the feelings of tragedy, to long for pity and attention, but when you carried the burden of victory – whether alone, or with others alike – pity, attention, tragedy…they were nothing more than pendulums swinging back and forth, sending you from one extreme to another.

So you saved the world – what about it? That didn't make a damn bit of a difference as to the fact that lives were lost along the way, that there was still pain all around. So you saved the world – that didn't mean that everything would immediately be okay. There was still the aftermath, the ashes from the fire to sweep up. The aftermath, in this case, had lasted for twelve years.

_Bright surges of green energy flew towards him. He thought he'd narrowly dodged all of the attacks, but to his misfortune, he felt a warm, stinging pain in his back as he stumbled to the ground face-first. The air escaped from his lungs as he fell to the ground with a thud. He tried to roll over onto his back to look up at the enemy – although he already knew who it was. He tried, but the very task of simply rolling over onto his back demanded more physical capacity than he had at that moment._

_He heard footsteps behind him, and then a low, evil chuckle from the enemy. _There's no way out now,_ he admitted to himself with bitter acceptance. He closed his eyes, let his muscles loosen and relax, and then prepared for the final attack that would send him under._

_A silent hum behind him. He knew it was coming his way, and the next thing he could feel was pain coursing throughout his entire being. Perhaps this was what death felt like…_

* * *

  
Garin Limoux jerked his entire body upright in the bed, gasping for air. He glanced about the room quickly. The curtains were floating lightly in the breeze as it came through the open window. Moonlight streamed from the overhead skylight onto the floor just outside the hallway. The only sound he could hear was that of the tree branches scraping against the window. Although…a part of him was certain he'd heard something else, too – almost like a pounding noise…

_It was just a dream,_ he tried to convince himself. Of course, he had those dreams a lot lately. Karel would chase him, he would fall down in defeat, and the next thing he knew, he was dead – or at least, that's what he figured would have happened. He always awakened before he had the chance to float away from his body and see just what had happened.

_It was just a dream,_ he repeated to himself. He couldn't very well go back to sleep, though. He felt like a child, too afraid of the storm to sleep alone. But he was an adult, and he was a Lux Veritatis knight. Surely he'd find it in himself to put the fear at bay and go back to sleep…

And there it was again. That pounding noise. He jerked his head in the direction of the front door downstairs. Was that someone knocking on the door? _Who the hell could that be? _he thought. He'd seen it in movies before – the late-night visitors with the weapons tucked away. Something in the back of his mind, though, told him he shouldn't be afraid – just wary.

Garin quickly reached for the Glock in the drawer next to his bed, then climbed to his feet, stealthing past the wall and the hallway table. He pulled back on the slide of the gun, then gripped it with two hands, moving as quietly down the hall as a police officer would in attempt to avoid potential danger that could erupt while hunting a suspect. He quietly moved down the stairs, keeping his gun trained on the door. When he finally reached the peephole, he peered outside. His face knit into confusion, and he relaxed his grip on the gun. With a sigh, he unlocked the door and opened it to come face-to-face with his Lux brother, Kyran Vasiley. "What the hell are you doing?" he demanded, both irritated and relieved at the same time.

Kyran shrugged his coat off and dropped it at the foot of the stairs, entering into Garin's Amiens manor without even an invitation. _He sure hasn't changed a bit, _Garin thought as he closed the door behind him. Kyran turned to face him, gesturing towards the gun. "You planning on using that?" he asked.

Garin turned the firearm over in his hand, then ejected the magazine and set both items on the nearby table. He folded his arms over his chest with a sigh. "Kyran, it's three o'clock in the damn morning. _What _are you doing here?"

"I need to talk to you about something," he said, heading deeper into the manor towards the sofa in the living room. He ran his fingers through his hair as he seated himself. Garin didn't really know what to say to his brother outside of business. Sure, they'd never been the closest of friends, let alone friends at all, but he hadn't seen him in twelve years. "I thought you were still in Greece?" Garin asked, leaning against the wall.

"I moved back to the states," Kyran replied.

"Which still doesn't make sense," Garin continued, "as to why you're here in my home…in France."

Kyran fiddled with his hands as he leaned on his knees with his elbows. Then, he slowly looked up at Garin. Garin had never seen Kyran so…tired. Not necessarily physically tired, per say, but so beat-down and weary. His eyes held the stories of a thousand burdens behind them. If Garin thought that _he_ was doing bad lately, then Kyran must've been worse, which strangely enough, was odd for someone so self-centered and narcissistic.

"Okay, I think we missed introductions here," Garin sighed, realizing that Kyran was, for a change, speechless. "How have you been in the past twelve years, Kyran?" He'd not meant to sound like an asshole, but quite frankly, he felt like one. His tone was irritable, to say the least, and the fact that Kyran was hardly giving up any information was even more irritating.

"Has it really been twelve years?" Kyran asked as he looked up, making a joke with a serious tone. "I would've guessed two or three years at most."

"Cut the shit," Garin demanded. "You're obviously not here for a chat. _What_ do you want?"

Kyran glared at him strangely, somewhat surprised by Garin's standoffish attitude. Garin was anything but standoffish, and he_ always_ kept his cool. At least, that was how everyone knew him as. Then again, it _had _been twelve years. Perhaps things had changed…

"Well, look who's all tightly-wound now," Kyran shot back. "What's wrong with _you_? Did your dog die or something?"

"Kyran, either tell me why you're here, or get the hell out of my house," he said, close to shouting. "I don't have time for your games."

"Right," Kyran scoffed. "There's so much else to do at this time – like sleep. And if you're anything like me, you haven't been doing much of that lately either."

Garin narrowed his eyes at him. "It's a bit hard to sleep when Karel follows you everywhere."

Kyran looked up at him. "I knew we had something in common."

Garin relaxed a bit. "So…you too, huh?" he asked quietly.

"Part of the reason why I'm here," Kyran said, rising to his feet.

"You couldn't have sent a letter?" Garin asked irritably.

"A bit 'old-school', if you ask me," Kyran said with a cocky grin. "I prefer e-mail."

"Right," Garin scoffed. "Because hearing from _any_ of you guys was the first thing I expected when I woke up."

"But who said you were asleep in the first place?" Kyran challenged.

Garin wanted to punch him in the face. Sure, they'd never gotten along, but in these past days, he'd never found himself so irritable, so on-the-edge with everyone. He could hardly control his rage anymore, it seemed like. Part of it was because of Karel stalking him in his dreams, and another part was…

Kyran brushed past Garin towards the hallway and jogged up the stairs. "Where are you going?" Garin asked irritably.

"To your study," Kyran replied. "I'm guessing it's up here…?"

Garin's stomach dropped. "Don't go up there…" he warned. Kyran didn't listen. Garin sighed irritably and then headed up the stairs after Kyran. He was already at the hallway down the door by the time Garin reached the second-story. Kyran's hand rested on the doorknob, and he glanced over at Garin with an irritating smirk. "In here, right?" he asked.

"You really just welcome yourself into other people's homes, don't you?" Garin asked irritably.

"I'm guessing that's a yes…" Kyran turned the door knob and pushed the door open. The lamp on the desk was still on, and the computer hummed, indicating that it hadn't been turned off. There were papers scattered about the floor, pinned to a billboard against the wall, and tucked into books lying on the couch, the desk, and the chairs. The place was a disaster. "Hm," Kyran said simply. "It seems you were more adamant on keeping me from seeing such a mess than seeing what the mess actually _is_."

"You've had your tour," Garin muttered. "Now get out of there."

Before Garin could protest further, Kyran entered inside, glancing about at all the papers lying around. The paper crumpled beneath his feet as he stepped on it, but he merely ignored it. He glanced around at the pictograms drawn and pinned on the billboard. Some of the papers had drawings with multiple colors smeared across it – others had strange numbers written in unstructured patterns. A map along the back wall had a large, black, repeated circle over the small location tucked away just north of the island of Madagascar and south of the Seychelles islands. Large, black arrows were drawn around the circle, pointing towards the location. Kyran scoffed a bit at the drawing as he approached it, dropping his fingers over the drawing with familiarity. "So you too, huh?" he asked Garin without turning. "Seems I'm not the only one stuck in Lemuria."

Garin sighed quietly to himself, folding his arms over his chest. "It's not something you can just forget in a day, Kyran."

"Yeah, I know," Kyran replied rudely. He dropped his head and looked down at the papers on the chair before him. Then, he picked one of them up, examining the almost-exact replica of the portal they'd stepped through so many years ago. Several numbers were scribbled underneath the picture were latitudinal and longitudinal coordinates, and just below those were polar coordinates and a bearing. "Why write down the coordinates if you know where it's at?" Kyran asked, keeping his gaze trained on the numbers.

"So I don't forget," Garin replied sarcastically.

Kyran didn't respond like Garin would've expected. Instead, he slowly put the paper back down on the desk, then turned to face his Lux Veritatis brother. "You know, it all makes sense now," he said casually. "Why we're having these dreams."

"Why is that?" Garin asked with boredom.

"Because…" Kyran said slowly. "It's Kurtis."

Garin scoffed. "Sure it is."

"Don't act like you don't believe it," Kyran said irritably. "Why else would you have all this shit in here?" He gestured towards the room to encompass all of the drawings, symbols, markings, and papers that held some significance about Lemuria.

"Because it helps me sleep better," Garin said.

"Right," Kyran scoffed. "Sleep. Remember how that doesn't seem to work anymore?"

"What do you want me to do?" Garin asked defensively. "Obviously, we can't get the portal open. Obviously, there's nothing we can do."

"Then why are you trying so hard?" Kyran challenged. "You must spend…what?...four to five hours in here a day pondering over this bullshit like an obsessive addict."

Garin shook his head irritably and turned away, heading down the stairs. He heard Kyran following behind him. "So I found out your little secret, Garin," Kyran said dryly. "Big deal. You're still trying to open the portal and find Kurtis. Lara told you not to bother with it – no, she _ordered_ you not to bother with it. Yet here you are, slumming through the wreckage like a dog looking for a bone."

"So what?" Garin muttered, opening the fridge to search for a cold beer.

"_So…_" Kyran said, leaning against the cabinet. "So what? That's _exactly_ what I'm saying. Who cares what she said! It's obviously not making a difference on you, and now's as good of a time as ever."

"Oh, yeah?" Garin challenged. "Why now? What is it about _now _that makes it such a good time?"

"Because…" Kyran said slowly, reaching into his pocket. He removed a small, folded paper and then unfolded it, peering down at it with triumph. Then, he stretched it out and held it before Garin's face. "_This _is why," he said flatly.

Garin glared at him, then turned his attention to the paper. There were coordinates written on it, and that was all. A few small numbers written down in pencil, smearing over the dirty, crumpled paper. His face knit into confusion as he took the paper from Kyran's hand, staring down at the numbers as they popped out into his vision like a 3D mind teaser. Then, he regained his skeptical composure with a shrug and looked back up at Kyran. "What about it?"

Kyran sighed, rubbing the back of his neck as if he'd been in a car accident. "The truth is…Karel's not the one following me these days. It's Kurtis."

"What?" Garin asked with confusion.

"Yeah," Kyran said. "It started about a month or so ago – simple, quick dreams about Lemuria, about _him_. Now, though, I can't even sleep for five minutes without waking up. Last week, during another one of those 'dreams', I saw these numbers float across the spectrum." He flicked at the paper with a cocky grin. "Something tells me they weren't random."

"Let me get this straight…" Garin said skeptically, leaning over the counter. "You had a dream which happened to involve these numbers…and you think that it means something important?"

"Well, don't sound too disbelieving," Kyran said, leaning away from the counter. "It's possible, ain't it? Why not give it a shot?"

"What do you expect to find, Kyran?" Garin asked rhetorically. "You think we'll end up in this place – wherever it is – and –"

"It's in Maldives," he interrupted, "just south of India. Trust me – I looked it up. It's smack-dab in the middle of the island."

"Whatever," Garin waved him off. "What do you think we'll find? Another portal? Kurtis? Karel?"

"I don't know what _you _will find, Garin," Kyran replied. "But it's worth a shot."

"Wait…what _I_ will find?" he asked, taken aback.

Kyran grinned that cocky grin he always had, even twelve years ago. "Yeah," he said simply. "After all, _you're_ the one who's got the entire upstairs study devoted to this…_situation_. I think it's only fair that you be the one to go!"

"Some logic there," Garin muttered irritably.

"Don't sound so upset," Kyran suggested. "And don't sound so surprised. You didn't think I'd changed in the past twelve years, did you?" He smirked annoyingly at his comrade.

"Always looking after number one," Garin muttered. "How could I have thought different?"

"Like I said, don't sound so surprised," Kyran repeated, heading towards the front door. "I just needed to let you know, that way it's someone else's problem. Besides, we both know I'm not the 'leader-type'…but you sure as hell are."

"How noble of you," Garin said sarcastically. "Although a simple phone call would've been enough."

Kyran rested his hand on the doorknob. "There's more security in face-to-face communication," he put simply. "And besides…I wouldn't want to disappoint you."

Kyran opened the door and pulled the color of his jacket close to his neck with a grin. "Have fun in Maldives," he said. "Maybe once you find him, he'll leave me the hell alone."

"You were always such a valiant person, Kyran," Garin said sarcastically as Kyran headed down the cement path.

Kyran turned to face him with one final grin. "Don't sound so surprised," he repeated.

* * *

**Chapter one...DONE! And I'm sure you were all expecting to see Lara or Kurtis, eh? Well, you'll have to wait. Sorry! And 12 years...hm. That's been a long time...yeah, you guys hate me already, don't you? You'll live, trust me XD  
**

**trfanfrombeg: **Your approval of me making Lara a mother makes me happy. You see, I was quite nervous about it, but one person's faith is enough for me XD And then after I read your review about the ring thing, I couldn't help but laugh. You're so right...unfortunately. And I editted the paint part out, haha.

**Rozzyrox_: _**Yeah, I can imagine Lara would've picked something more crazy and unique for a baby name, but I wanted something simple yet ambiguous so she could have all these cheesy and fluffy little nicknames, haha.

**Welcome to the story, all my new followers! Come like moths to the flame! It's always party time around here!! And you can expect to see chapter two up on Saturday, July 4. A little Independence Day gift for everyone =D**


	2. Return

**I think two and a half weeks and one chapter is too much of a Kurtis-withdrawal for you guys *sigh* so you can have his return early... **

* * *

  
Garin stared down at the small white paper in his hand, reading the coordinates over and over in his mind. He hardly felt the slight waver from the helicopter as it crept even closer to the island of Maldives. _You'd better be right, Kyran,_ he thought warily. If he was going on some wild goose chase – which wouldn't surprise him, seeing how it was in fact _Kyran_ who had given him the coordinates – then he would make his way back to the states and kick the living shit out of his Vasiley comrade, Lux Veritatis or not.

Again, he thought, what difference did it make? What would happen then? He'd go the exact location of the bearing – point-for-point, and not a mark off – and find…what? Sure, neither he nor Kyran knew what to expect when he arrived at location, but still, a part of him wondered if there was even something to expect in the first place.

He'd convinced Lara twelve years ago that Kurtis likely wasn't dead, but the very fact that it had been twelve years since they'd last seen or heard from him was enough to make him question the truth behind his assertion. Sure, the likelihood _had_ been probable – had been. Now though, everyone had aged. Things were different. Was it even possible that Kurtis could've survived in the first place? It wasn't like there was a Croft Manor inside Lemuria where he could relax at his leisure – he was _trapped_ in another dimension.

Garin stared down at the paper, then flipped it over to read his own notes that he'd later scribbled on it. _The village of Yarkeva_. Apparently, there were some old ruins on the outskirts of the village, which would put him directly at the coordinates' location. That was where he was going to find…whatever it was he was looking for. _You'd better be right, Kyran, _he thought again.

Of course, then there was Kyran. Garin hadn't held contact with any of the brothers in the past twelve years. Well, not much anyways. Occasionally, he'd receive an e-mail, a letter, or a phone call from the more polite of the bunch – Zeth, Davis, and at one time, even Willard. The rest, he'd hardly heard from at all. Aiden had lived with him up until about two years ago, then had moved to New York to finish his schooling and become a certified lawyer. Garin had felt as proud as if he were his own son, but time and time again, he had to remind himself that he wasn't. He was the kid of a friend of his parent's. Had it not been for the Lux Veritatis blood, he would've been nothing more than another passerby.

And finally, there was Lara. He'd made brief contact with Alister and Zip over the years, only about once a year, just to make sure she was still holding up. He remembered the last time he'd seen her so sullen, so depressed, and who could blame her? Her lover was trapped in another dimension, and she was left to raise his child alone. He understood why she didn't want him to try to find Kurtis, but he couldn't do it. He just couldn't. It wasn't because he would feel like a jerk or whatever, it just wasn't in his nature to leave anyone behind. He knew it wasn't in Lara's either, but she wasn't a person of faith. She believed in the materialistic, and logic. If Kurtis wasn't there in her presence, he wasn't there at all.

Garin had spent the past twelve years in that damned study upstairs in his house, and Kyran had been right – it _was_ about four or five hours a day. He became so obsessed with his studies about Lemuria that he could've given Alister a run for his money. Not only did he need to find a way out for Kurtis and Lara's sake, he needed to satisfy this insatiable drive to find resolve – resolve which could only be found by breaking open that damned portal and getting the Montsegur brother back to reality.

The helicopter slowly descended, and Garin crammed the note into his pants pocket. With a heavy sigh, he stood to his feet and gripped the overhead railing, waiting until the chopper was just low enough for him to jump out. Sure, arriving on the island of Maldives via hilo was nothing short of conspicuous, but he really didn't care.

Garin climbed out of the chopper, and with a quick wave to the pilot, he headed towards the village that lay ahead. Natives dressed in colorful attire casted long stares at the white man with the aviator shades and loosely-buttoned white shirt, but Garin hardly paid any attention. He ran his fingers through his jet black hair and then glanced in all direction, assuming that the ruins were the large stone temple that lay ahead in the distance.

With another heavy sigh, he trudged forward. _You'd better be right, Kyran._

_

* * *

  
_It was a funny feeling, really. People always thought of floating and flying as feelings of dissociation from reality. Isn't that what everyone wanted? No one _wanted _to be stuck on the mundane planet of Earth forever. Once in awhile, it would be nice to just escape and run away. Once in awhile, fantasy was better than reality.

Kurtis had been trapped in 'fantasy' for six years now, and those feelings that people longed for were feelings belonging to the unappreciative. Those people were unappreciative of life, unappreciative of reality. To be honest, he was sick of floating. He was just sick of it. To feel ground beneath his feet once again – well, that would be something.

Gravity was a materialistic kind of thing. It kept you grounded, and for once, he wanted to be grounded. Here in Lemuria, though, he couldn't remain grounded. Those stupid swirls of purple, pink, and gold floated around him, lifting him into a bittersweet moment of…well, floating. He was literally floating above…the ground? _Whatever the hell it is,_ he thought. _It sure as hell isn't ground._

He did this a lot. What else was there to do in Lemuria? Hell, compared to this, one of Alister's lectures on history was the most exciting thing he could imagine. _Not that it matters, _he thought. _I'm never getting out of here anyways._

He'd been trying to communicate with his brothers for the past several months now. Lemuria was hell, without a doubt, but it proved to give him a lot of psychic manipulation. He took advantage of that and attempted to reach them through dreams and visions. The only brothers he felt that he gained a response from, though, were Garin and Kyran. Garin, likely because of his good-hearted nature, and Kyran, likely because he would only think of ridding Kurtis's voice in his head for the sake of peace. If it got Kurtis out of Lemuria, he didn't care _who _he had to irritate.

Kurtis felt something strange behind him, and he sat up quickly from his reclined position on the floating colors of dust. He lowered himself to the 'ground' and held a wary glare in the direction of the shadow he could've sworn he'd seen. _Karel, _he thought irritably. It had to be Karel…

He'd tracked him down and killed him with the Sword of Light after Karel had impersonated Konstantin. He hadn't seen him again in the past six years, not once, but somehow, Kurtis was convinced that he wasn't dead. Whenever he felt those strange feelings of being followed or watched, he was sure it was Karel…somehow. Needless to say, it was peaceful not having him around in physical context, but that didn't make up for the fact that he _knew_ that Karel was around here somewhere.

This time, though, there was something different about the movement he suspected. He saw it coming from a northerly direction. He saw a thin barrier of dancing light, yellow light that hadn't been there before. His face knit into confusion as well as intrigue. _What have I got to lose_? he thought with boredom. Above all, boredom was what he was sick from more than anything else. Next on the list was loneliness…

Kurtis sighed to himself and worked the kinks out of his neck as he trudged towards the shadow in the distance – rather, where he'd assumed he'd seen the shadow. Psychology would easily claim that his lack of human interaction in six goddamn years was causing him to lose his mind in the most literal sense, but he was _certain_ that he'd seen something…

And there it was again! Kurtis stopped in his tracks, watching carefully as the shadow moved beyond the thin layer of psychic energy in the distance. It almost looked…real.

_Oh, well,_ he thought nonchalantly. _If it's Karel, let him kill me. At least I'll get the hell out of here._ He trudged carefully towards the thin layer of energy, and the shadow grew bigger with each step as he drew closer. He outstretched his hand slowly, reaching towards the barrier. The shadow stopped just before him, as if it was aware of Kurtis's presence.

Kurtis drew in a silent breath of courage, and then reached even further towards the shield. When his fingertips brushed against the barrier, he felt his entire body being pulled forward at lightning speed. The force on his being must've been too intense to physically handle, because before he could fully realize it, he was unconscious.

* * *

Garin followed the winding path down into temple, eyeing the intricate carvings all around. Normally, he would be keen to such cultural display, but right now, he just wanted to find what he was there for and leave.

He sighed as he dropped his backpack to the ground, glancing about the empty temple room. He was there. He was right where the coordinates placed him – but there was nothing there. He sighed again, although this time, with frustration. What the hell was he supposed to do now? A small voice in the back of his head told him to think outside the box…whatever that meant…

_…use my powers? _he thought slowly. He'd hardly used his powers in twelve years. But if that was what it took, that was what he would do. He held his hands before him, ever so slowly, and then closed his eyes, willing the psychic energy to erupt in his palms. When he looked down, he saw a subtle orange glow illuminating his hands. He smiled faintly as his powers returned to him, then he looked up. Garin outstretched his arm and engulfed the room in a thin layer of the orange energy, like a painter covering the entire white of the canvas.

Finally, he took a step back, admiring his work. The entire room was engulfed in orange energy, forming a barrier between him and the other half of the room. Now what? He could feel something strong, and it was just on the other side of the portal.

Garin slowly approached the portal and reached his hand towards it. _This might not be the best idea, but it's worth a shot,_ he thought. He drew in a deep breath, and then reached forward. His forearm reached through the portal, disappearing beyond the orange light. He felt something against his fingertips, something…real. It felt like skin.

_It can't be…_he thought doubtfully. _Kurtis? _He tightened his grip around the object, and as soon as he did, he saw the faint trace of a shadow on the other side of the portal. He stopped for a moment, almost shocked by the cryptic illusion, but then pulled his arm back towards his body, keeping a grip on…whatever it was that was in his hand. He pulled hard with all the strength he could summon, until his entire arm returned through the portal – carrying extra baggage with it.

Garin almost leapt from his skin as he staggered backwards, watching as the body fell to the ground, unconscious. For a moment, he was frozen. He could merely stare down at the body of his lost brother. It wasn't true. It couldn't even be real. It couldn't be possible. Was he sure he wasn't dreaming?

At the slowest pace he'd ever moved, he bent down next to Kurtis, feeling for a pulse along his wrist. With lightning speed, Kurtis jerked his hand forward and gripped Garin by the throat. He would've reacted, but he felt the barrel of a gun pressed into his side, held by Kurtis's other hand. Kurtis slowly opened his blue eyes, gazing up hollowly at his brother. Garin could hardly recognize him. It was as if he were possessed, as if he weren't even in his own body.

_Don't do it, Kurtis, _Garin thought warily, hoping it would reach his mind. _It's me. It's Garin Limoux. I'm your brother – I'm your friend…_

Kurtis continued to stare into his eyes for a long moment, glaring as if deciding whether or not he should waste the lead on the man before him. Finally, he released his grip and lowered the gun. He dropped his hands to the ground and closed his eyes, turning his head to be precisely parallel with the ceiling above him. It was too good to be true – wasn't it? Kurtis lay on the ground on his back, his eyes closed, afraid to believe that for a second he was back in the real world. He opened one eye, looking up to see the brick ceiling of the ruins. The sunlight was creeping in through the brick windows. "You'd better not be fucking with my head," Kurtis muttered in a hoarse voice.

Garin wasn't sure if it was a joke or not, but seeing how the ball was in his court at that point, he let it turn as a joke, and he chuckled a bit. "Hardly," he replied. "As long as you're not messing with mine…?"

Kurtis didn't laugh. Instead, he groaned, reaching a hand up to his head. He slowly opened his eyes, gazing over his hands as if expecting to look like an alien. Then, he slowly lifted up his shirt, revealing the large scar on his stomach from where Karel had skewered him with the Sword of Light. Luckily enough for Kurtis, light would repel light. That had been the only way he'd survived the attack, although the healing process had taken long enough…

He shoved his shirt back down, refusing to look at the scar. Then, he turned his head towards Garin. "Are you real?" he asked slowly.

"As real as you are," Garin replied carefully. "As real as any of this is." He gestured about the temple's room, keeping a close eye on his friend.

"How do I know that's true?" Kurtis asked suspiciously.

"You have faith," Garin replied flatly. "Isn't that all we can do?"

Kurtis didn't reply. He wasn't in the mood to have faith – in anyone or anything. Instead, he slowly rose to his feet, staring at the orange energy that floated before him as it slowly died away. "Good riddance," he muttered, watching as the light slowly dissipated altogether.

Garin rose to his feet as well, removing the folded paper that Kyran had given him the night before. "Kyran told me you sent him some coordinates," he said casually.

Kurtis slowly looked down. "Good thing he got them," he muttered hollowly.

"He left them with me," Garin replied. "I figured there was no harm in checking them out."

Kurtis ran his fingers through his hair. "No harm is right," he echoed.

Garin pocketed the note, unsure as to why he removed it in the first place. "Well, I'm certainly glad to see you're alive and kicking," he replied.

"If that's what you call this," Kurtis said. "I've been in hell for six years."

Garin frowned. "Six years?" he asked. "It's actually been…twelve years," he remarked.

Kurtis's face knit into confusion. "I counted every goddamn day, Garin. I think I would remember."

"Perhaps time moves slower in Lemuria," he said. "Regardless, you seem to be alright."

"Yeah," Kurtis said sarcastically. "Sure." He was the farthest thing from alright. He felt queasy, and the next thing he knew, he was bent over, heaving up his dry insides. He hadn't eaten in six – twelve? – years, and he was just barely realizing how hungry he was. Perhaps all that psychic energy beyond the portal had disrupted his insides, anyway. He couldn't even be half-normal at this point. He was sure of it. That place had caused plenty of damage on him, emotionally and mentally.

Garin helped him back to his feet. "It looks like you could use some food, a shower, and a place to sleep," Garin speculated.

"All of the above," Kurtis agreed.

"Very well," he said. "I'll take you back to my home in Amiens. You can rest up and then decide where you'd like to go from there."

_I know exactly where I want to go,_ Kurtis thought. The first place on his stop was London, England, to find the woman he'd not forgotten in six – _twelve!_ – years. She would still feel the same way about him – he was sure of it.

* * *

**Of course...psychologically speaking, Kurtis would've been literally insane, but Tomb Raider defies logic, so there's no argument there XD**

**OveractiveImaginer: **I had to ease you guys in with a deep speech about being a hero/burden!! It only seemed right. And don't get me started on that PAINT...

**Jade the Grey: **Huh? You're in a festival meadow without internet for six days? Is that some Independence Day vacation, lol?

**laraandkurtisfan97: **Lara's a tough gal, she'll manage XD No worries!!

**I'll catch you kids lata on Monday for chapter three!! You might find the next chapter to be quite entertaining!! I know I do...XD**


	3. Upside Down

**I'm so thrilled to finally be able to introduce to you Emily Croft. Mind you, this is only a smidge of her personality, but you may come to realize eventually that you actually like her!! So read on, and judge with an open mind! =D**

**

* * *

  
**"I don't get why we're studying US history anyway," one of the kids next to her muttered. "We live in the UK, for God's sake. Why do we have to learn all this nonsense?"

"Because it makes you a well-rounded and knowledgeable student," the teacher replied irritably. "And because it's part of the curriculum."

"It's the same boring stuff that's been beat down for the past seven years anyway," the boy continued to mutter, although this time he actually opened his book and wrote down the assignment on the board.

Emily leaned her chin into her right hand and scribbled on the blank piece of paper before her with her left. Five more minutes, and school was out for the weekend. Five more minutes until freedom. Then only three more months until the end of elementary school and the beginning of junior high. It was a scary thought, but anything was better than _this_. She'd spent enough time with her mother, Zip, and Alister to have much more knowledge than any of the kids in her class. In fact, she wished she'd been put in an _advanced _class. Instead of protesting and coming across as a nerd, though, she kept quiet and did as she was told. She would rather be the best of the worst than the worst of the best.

"…all five questions on page two-seventeen, and then the critical reading questions on page two-twenty. Everything will be due on Monday," the teacher rambled on. Emily hardly noticed it. With a bored sigh, she continued to stare down at the doodle before her. She wasn't an artist, per say, but what else was she supposed to do – pay attention? Hardly. The drawing of the Ducati Superbike was flat and animated, but it passed time regardless.

In all her disinterest and lack of attention, she heard the faint sound of footsteps approaching. Her stomach dropped when she realized the teacher was standing just over her, probably peering down irritably at her drawing. Emily slowly looked up at the irritated face of her teacher. "What a lovely drawing, Emily," the woman said. "Although this is hardly art class."

"Sorry, ma'am," Emily muttered, her cheeks flaring with embarrassment. This wasn't the first time the teacher had called her out for her lack of attention to the classroom setting. The teacher reached forward and took the drawing into her hands, holding it up for the class to see. "It looks like we have a regular Picasso in here," she said with a cocky grin on her face.

The class laughed at her joke, although they were probably just thankful to not be the outlet of 'Miss Rat-face's' seemingly passive aggression. Miss Radford was, according to rumor, the absolute worst teacher in the entire elementary school. Not only was she old and decrepit, she was also mean, snooty, and assigned to much homework. Usually, she would merely approach Emily, close the book shut over her silly doodle, and snap at her to pay attention. This time, though, she publicly humiliated her.

Miss Rat-face dropped the paper on her desk and glared down at her. "Don't let me catch you doodling again, Miss Emily," she commanded. "We wouldn't want to have another parent-teacher conference, would we?"

Emily dropped her head, staring down at the cover of her book. "No, ma'am," she muttered.

The teacher stood over her for just enough time to assert her dominance, then turned away with her nose in the air, moving towards her desk to likely assign even more homework. Emily sighed heavily, folding the paper up and tucking it into her backpack. The whiney boy from before leaned towards her with a smirk on his face. "Good going, you prat," he whispered.

_He has nothing better to do than irritate me,_ Emily thought to herself. She glared at him as she crammed the pencils into her backpack. "Bugger off, jerkwad," she shot back. _How original._

The boy laughed. "Oh, no – the British Yank just insulted me!" he said.

Emily felt her cheeks flaring again, though not from embarrassment but from anger and irritability. She felt grateful – for the boy's sake – that the bell had just rung and he stood to leave – still laughing uncontrollably as though he'd just made the funniest joke in history. Perhaps the most annoying thing of anything that she had to endure in this hell-hole of a school was being called the 'British Yank'. Quite a few kids in her class had taken kindly to such an insult, and quite frankly, she wanted to punch them square in the face. So what if she didn't have an accent, for whatever reason? Her mom always told her that it made her unique…although her mom's rationalization for why she spoke with an American accent was quite far-off, even Emily had trouble believing it.

Emily sighed, pulled her knapsack over her head, and pulled her hair out from under the strap. She left the classroom as quickly as she could, praying she wouldn't have any further confrontation with her teacher or any other kids in the class. Maybe _that _was why Miss Rat-face picked on her so much – maybe it was because she was the 'British Yank'. Hardly ethical, Emily knew, but it made sense. She was a dork, to say the least, but her American accent didn't help, and neither did the fact that the other kids considered her spoiled and rich – although that was hardly the case. Her mother was the rich one, and Emily was hardly spoiled. She had just as much privilege and lack thereof as the next kid in her class did.

And of course, there was that always-gnawing-at-the-back-of-her-mind truth that she didn't have a father. The kids in her class seemed to find _that _quite hilarious as well, though why it was funny, Emily would never understand. _You'd think kids would be more merciful about such touchy situations these days, _she thought with a sigh. Apparently not. If junior high – hell, even high school – was anything like elementary school was, she'd rather have home tutors. She was sure her overprotective mother would comply with such a request…

Emily pulled the straps of her knapsack taught against her shoulders, then trudged down the street as the overhead clouds warned of rain. _Just great, _she thought. All she needed now was rain to walk home in. It never seemed to stop raining in London. She pulled the hood of her thin sweater over her head, then tucked her arms against her body. She stopped at the edge of the street, knowing that home lay just down the left path, but the tea shop lay just down the right path. She wasn't exactly ready to go home yet – so why not stop for a cup of tea?

Emily turned to step down the curb and into the crosswalk when she immediately jumped back, nearly impaled by the careless motorbike driver as he sped down the road. _If he weren't on a motorbike, _she thought irritably, _I'd be extremely pissed off. _She let it slide though – what was one more tab to her bill? Just another number.

She removed some of the bills from her knapsack as she continued down the street, counting to make sure she had enough pounds to buy herself a cup of tea. As she began to pocket the money, she felt someone shove her hard against the wall. She looked up quickly to find herself face-to-face with Josh Calloway, one of Henry Calloway's mischievous sons. The fact that he was in high school only made him more intimidating, and this time, two of his friends were with him. "Hey, kid," Josh said. "Where's the money you owe me?"

"What money?" Emily asked dryly.

Josh plucked the bills from her hand with a cocky grin. "This money," he said. "Next time you think about skippin' out on me – don't."

Emily tried to think of a quick escape route, but nothing came to mind. All she could do was run. As Josh began counting through the bills in his hand, Emily drew in a deep breath, then shoved her way past him and down the street. She heard him call her name, but she didn't stop. Instead, she ran all the way towards the tea house.

* * *

  
_Earlier in the day_

Garin remained seated at his table the following morning, back at home in Amiens. He calmly sipped the coffee from his cup, reading over the paper laid out before him. It was a Sunday morning, thankfully – tomorrow he would have to return to work, unfortunately. He wasn't ready to go back. He wanted a break from it all.

The pumps rattled, indicating the shower was being turned off. Kurtis had crashed almost instantly after arriving in Amiens. He'd slept for a full twelve hours, and just barely risen to take a shower. Garin was reluctant to ask anything about Lemuria – it had obviously had a profound impact on him, and not in a good way. He hadn't spoken one word of the damned place, so Garin wouldn't pry. He hadn't spoken of Lara yet, either, much to Garin's surprise, though he knew that was the one thing on his mind.

Garin folded the paper up as Kurtis descended down the stairs with a bag in his hands, running his fingers through his hair to dry it out. He may have grown twelve years older, but he still looked for the same, for the most part – except that this Kurtis had a tinge of sadness and loneliness in his eyes, like the things he'd seen in Lemuria had been enough to kill his spirit completely. _Lara can bring that back, _Garin thought wishfully.

Kurtis seated himself across from Garin at the table, pouring himself a cup of coffee. "Did you sleep well?" Garin asked.

"Like an angel," he said.

"Good," Garin said, grinning. "So what's on your agenda? You're welcome to stay here as long as necessary."

Kurtis stared ahead, as if contemplating something. "I'm thinking I'll head out," he said. "I was going to visit a friend in London…"

"A friend?" Garin asked curiously.

"Lara," he said, though he knew that Garin knew damn well that she was whom he was referring to. "She's all I've thought about in the past six – I mean, twelve – years that I've been stuck in hell."

"I figured as much," Garin said calmly.

"Have you kept in contact with her much?" he asked.

"No. She took your disappearance pretty hard, so it was natural for her to want to stay away from whatever reminded her of you," he admitted. "I have maintained contact with Alister and Zip, though."

"Do you…do you know if she's…you know…married, or anything?" Kurtis asked slowly.

Garin chuckled. "Not that I know of," he said.

"That's promising," Kurtis muttered, sipping his coffee. "I guess I'll…have to find out myself."

_You do have a daughter, though, _Garin wanted to say. Kurtis needed to learn it on his own, though. If he knew he had a child, it might compel him to stay as far away from England as possible. Thinking this, Garin kept his mouth shut.

"I guess so," Garin said coolly, lifting the paper before him. "Well, if you need anything else, don't hesitate to ask. I'm glad to help."

"Transportation to London?" he asked.

Garin cleared his throat, picking up the phone on the table and dialing a number. "Wade, it's Garin. Could you arrange a private flight from here to London for a good friend of mine?" Garin remained on the line with this Wade fellow for another few moments, then hung up. "There will be a flight arriving here for you in just twenty minutes," he said. "I assumed you'd like to leave immediately?" he asked.

"Of course," Kurtis said. "But I really do appreciate everything you've done, Garin."

"Say no more. We're brothers. It's what we do."

"I'll keep in touch," Kurtis said.

"Good," he replied. "You'd be the only one, besides Aiden, to do so."

Kurtis chuckled rising from the table and picking up his bag to exit the building. He bid a quick goodbye to his Lux Veritatis brother, knowing he would likely see him again, and headed outside towards the Cessna 172, nerves running through his entire being as he thought of the true fact that he would be seeing the woman he loved in just two short hours.

* * *

  
The small aircraft had dropped Kurtis off in the outskirts of London, right next to a beautiful bike shop. He had been entirely grateful to Garin for acquainting him with transportation out of France and money to get around. He'd given him several pounds to spend in London, should he need it, and it was already playing a key role in his survival in this country. Kurtis handed several pounds over to the bike shop owner, and picked out a Honda Shadow Spirit from the line up, letting it idle, as well as letting his nerves idle.

Kurtis drew in a deep breath, then pulled onto the main road, heading in the direction of the Croft Manor. Somehow, he'd managed to remember the street names since he'd last been here twelve years ago. As he inched closer to the home of the woman who had his heart, panic began to settle over him. Did she still love him? Did she want to be with him? How would she react? What if she'd moved? What if she'd forgotten him completely?

_I can't do this yet,_ Kurtis sighed in his mind. He turned down a narrow road to the right. The Croft Manor was just up ahead, but he couldn't go there yet. He was too nerve-racked. _I'll settle for a tea shop up the street,_ he thought, even though he hated tea. He continued driving down the street, barely noticing the fact that he'd nearly run down a young girl as she prepared to step into the cobblestone. _She'll be fine, _he thought passively. The fact of the matter was that he had in fact missed her.

Kurtis parked the bike behind the shop, trudging inside to a back corner. There was no one behind the counter, and no one in sight at all. The entire place seemed empty. There was a newspaper already on the table, left from the previous occupants. Kurtis picked it up, scanning over the words, but not really reading it. He just needed to look occupied so he could convince himself that he had a reason not to go see Lara.

He had been so confident, so sure of himself that he would just get up and go to London, walk right into Lara's home, and they would pick up where they'd left off. Unlikely. What if Lara was married? What would Kurtis do then? What if she had a handful of children? What if she was mad at him, worst of all? It wasn't like he could've helped it, but still, what if?

Kurtis rubbed his temple, startling as a customer walked through the door and the ding echoed throughout the shop. A young girl with brown hair loosely pulled over her shoulder entered the shop, a saddlebag over one of her arms. She looked to be in a rush, and almost…scared. Kurtis eyed her suspiciously. Then, it hit him. She was the girl he'd nearly run over earlier. _Fate is not on my side, _he thought irritably. He stretched out the paper and held it before his face so she wouldn't recognize him.

The girl quickly leaned over the counter, searching back and forth as if expecting someone. "Brennan?" she called into the short hallway behind the bar. She gained no response. She groaned in frustration, glancing about the room frantically. _What _was she doing?

Kurtis continued to passively watch her, and he watched her expression change from spastic to fearful as the door indicated more customers. Three older boys entered, glaring evilly at the girl as they stepped closer to her.

"Do me a favor and go away," she said quickly.

The boy pulled the door shut. "Whoa, take it easy, kid," he said in a heavy Cockney accent. "Just checking what's up."

"Yeah, sure," she said. "Like the last time?"

"Emma, we're in high school," he pointed out. "You've got to learn that you can't get away with taking money from us."

"I didn't take any money from you," she argued, although she sounded unsure of herself. She sighed deeply. "I have to go." She moved to leave, but Josh quickly blocked her way again. She stared up at him evilly. "Get out of my way," she demanded.

"You missed a few pounds," he said, gripping her arm as he indicated that she'd short-paid him.

"And you're going to stay a couple pounds short," she said firmly.

The boy shoved her backwards, and she moved quickly, reaching for her pocket. _If I could just reach my lighter, _she thought. Then, she panicked, realizing she'd left it at home. She did what came to mind first – she reached an elbow up and struck Josh in the head. He stumbled backwards, and she prepared to bolt, but she was stopped by his friends. One of them lurched a fist forward, striking her in the eye. She staggered backwards into the wall, the breath leaving her chest.

Josh leaned forward to take the next hit at her, but as Emily reached a hand up to cover her face, she saw him being pulled backwards and shoved away fiercely. A man stood before her – whoever he was – and glared evilly into the boy's eyes. Emily had passively noticed his presence in the back corner once she'd entered the tea shop, but only now did she realize he was carrying a gun – perhaps he was a cop.

"Get the hell out of here," he said in a cold voice. The last thing Kurtis was in the mood for was a group of irritating high school boys who wanted to pick on some random girl. Of course, it wasn't his situation to be involved in, but he very well couldn't sit back and watch.

"Or what?" Josh asked, folding his arms over his chest in a challenging manner.

"Or I'll handle you myself," Kurtis warned as he rested his hand on the grip of his gun.

The boys' eyes widened, and the next thing Emily knew, they scattered out the door and out of sight. She stared up at the man before her, as confused as she was shocked. He turned towards her, offering her a hand. "Need some help?"

She stared at his hand for a moment, more afraid of the guy than thankful that he'd caused the real enemies to scatter. Then, she handed him her own hand slowly. He pulled her to her feet, helping her retrieve her saddlebag. "Thanks," she muttered. "You do this often?" she asked. "Save distressed teenage girls and what not?"

The man grinned. "Only on Fridays," he said. "You alright? It looks like you're getting a black eye."

"I'll be okay," she muttered. She looked up into his eyes for the first time. Kurtis noted that they were a vivid blue, and complemented her light skin complexion and long brown hair. _She almost looks like Lara, but with blue eyes…_Kurtis thought passively.

"Well, thank you," she said calmly. She glanced down at the ground where several of her papers were still scattered. She sighed, bending down, and scooped them up with shaken hands. She groaned in frustration, leaning backwards. "You alright?" the man asked.

"Fan-bloody-tastic," she muttered.

The man folded his arms over his chest slowly, then drew in a silent breath. "I'm not good with kids," he admitted, "but you look like you could use a break. Do you want to relax and…have some tea or something? My treat…?"

She slowly looked up at him, nodding. "Yeah, that'd be good. Thanks."

She pulled the bag taught over her shoulder, then moved back towards the direction of the table that he had been at as he followed behind her. Emily wasn't sure who he was, or why he was being so nice, but it wasn't like she had much in the way of friends anyway, and she certainly couldn't return home right away and explain to her mother why she had a black eye. Sitting things out for a bit would do her good.

Emily covered her face as she seated herself at the back corner table, embarrassed by the little tiff she'd been involved in. _Safer if I just chill here for a bit,_ she thought. The man sat himself across the table, handing her a small cup of tea. She smiled weakly in gratitude and took a sip of the beverage. Then, she set it back down on the table, folding her hands in her lap. "So…you have a name?" she asked.

"Kurtis," he said.

"Nice to meet you," she said, extending her hand to shake his. "My name is Emily." She pulled the cup to her mouth, then eyed the gun holstered in his shoulder holster. "Are you…a cop or something?" she asked timidly.

Kurtis glanced down at his gun, then chuckled a bit as he looked up at her. "Something like that."

She took a sip from her tea, not prodding any further. "So what are you doing here in London? You're not from around here…?"

"No, I'm not," he said. _I don't even know where I'm from,_ he thought. "I'm looking for a friend."

"Did you lose him?"

Kurtis chuckled softly. "No, I just haven't seen _her _in a long time."

"Oh, a woman!" she said, grinning playfully. "Do you like her?"

"You ask too many questions for someone your age," Kurtis said. "What are you, eight years old?"

"I'm _twelve_, actually," she said, narrowing her eyes at him. "Sorry. I'm just trying to make conversation."

"Yeah," he said. "So what about you? You from around here?"

"Yeah," she responded. "I live just up the street. My mom usually has me on lockdown though, so I get out of the house when I can."

"But…you don't have an accent…?"

The girl sighed, taking a sip of the tea. "I was born and raised here in the UK, but for some reason, I've always had an American accent. My mom thinks it's ironic because my father was American. She believes it's some kind of 'deeper predisposition of connection to my father whom I've never met' that kept me from having a British accent, but then again, my mom is a kook, so I don't know what else to believe."

Kurtis chuckled. "Is that her talking or you?"

"Her, of course," Emily said, grinning.

"Of course."

"Yeah, my mom is a real ball-buster."

"A-A what?" Kurtis stammered, not expecting such a 'young lady' to talk like that.

"A ball-buster," she repeated simply. "You know…she keeps everyone in check."

Kurtis chuckled. "Yeah, if that's what they would call it…"

Emily took another sip of her drink. "My mom is really overprotective of me, what with losing my dad and all. She said he disappeared before I was even born."

"I'm sorry," was all Kurtis knew how to say.

"What about you?" she asked. "Do you have any kids, or a wife, or anything?"

"No," Kurtis replied hollowly.

"But you're old!" she said. "You're like…eighty! Shouldn't you already be settled down?"

Kurtis narrowed his eyes at her. "You really just say whatever comes to mind, don't you?"

She nodded. "I guess it's my weakness. That's what Mom says…"

"I'm not _that_ old," Kurtis responded. "And just because you're an adult, doesn't mean you have to settle down."

"Fine then," she said simply. "So what do you do for work?"

"Is this an interview for a job, or a casual conversation?" he said, more amused than annoyed.

She giggled, embarrassed. "Sorry," she said. She sighed, tipping the cup upside-down to reveal it as empty. "I should probably get home," she said. "Mom will have kittens if I'm gone too long." She stood up, pulling her saddlebag over her head, and extending a hand in Kurtis's direction. "Well, thanks for saving my life…and buying me tea. I appreciate it."

Kurtis grinned, shaking her hand. "My pleasure."

She turned away to leave, but stopped, groaning in frustration. "I forgot…" she said. "Would it…would it be alright if I perhaps, possibly, maybe…could get a ride from you? I just live up the street…?"

Kurtis sighed. He technically had nowhere to be, except the Croft Manor, and he wasn't exactly up for going _there_ yet. "Why not?" he reasoned, standing. He removed his keys from his pocket and led the young bubbly girl outside.

"So where's your car?" she asked, looking around.

"My _bike_," he said, pointing the motorbike outside the building.

"Ooh!" she exclaimed. She approached it, bending down to examine its parts. "A 2005 Honda Shadow Spirit, V2-4-stroke engine with a five-speed gearbox and a liquid cooling system! This is amazing!" She looked like a kid in a candy shop, and when she looked up at Kurtis, he was almost shocked. "What's its transmission type? Is it a shaft drive?"

He stared at her in confusion for a moment, then nodded slowly. "Yeah…yeah, it is. How do you know all that?"

She shrugged, standing. "My mom owns a bunch of motorbikes, and she's taught me upkeep. When I turn sixteen, I'm going to get my automobile _and_ my motorbike licenses so I can drive all of my mom's cars and bikes!"

"Sounds like a plan…" he said slowly. "Let's get moving." He was still in shock over the girl's quickly-summoned motorbike lingo. _Too few smart kids out there these days, _he reasoned with himself. She briskly hopped on the back of the bike and held onto him. "No helmet?" she asked nervously.

He revved the engine. "No need," he replied. She giggled as he pulled the bike onto the street, followed by her direction of where to go. He pulled through back alleys, down streets, and nimbly around double-decker buses and black taxi cabs. Finally, he pulled up to a steel-grated fence, and his stomach dropped. He froze in place as the young girl climbed off the back of the bike. She drew in a nervous breath. "Well, this is it."

"This…this is your home?" he asked.

She glanced at him. "Yeah," she said simply.

"What's it called?"

"The Croft Manor," she said. "I know it looks big and glitzy, but it's so cool on the inside. My mom has an assault course, a quad track, and a _huge_ pool inside!"

"That's, uh…" he said slowly. "That's amazing."

She looked down at the ground, kicking at the gravel. "I know it'd be a little weird if I asked you for another favor," she said, staring down, "but would it be alright if you…you know…come up with me to the front door? My mom is more likely to believe anything that anyone else says, and when she sees my black eye, she's going to kick my butt."

"I don't know about that…" he said nervously.

"I promise it's the last thing I'll ask of you," she begged, clasping her hands together and looking up at him pleadingly. "Please, please, please?"

That was the last thing Kurtis wanted to do, especially in _this_ context – go up to the door of the Croft Manor, likely be greeted by Winston, and be standing there with Lara's teenage daughter?

Wait a minute – Lara had a _daughter_. It was barely hitting him. She was the mother of a twelve-year-old girl. _Twelve, _he thought. He glanced up at the girl, again noticing the vivid coloring of her blue eyes. _This feels strange…_he thought hesitantly.

"So would it be alright?" she asked again. "My mom will be cool about it. At least to you…"

Kurtis was ready to throttle the hell out of here and go back to France. _You knew she had a daughter, didn't you? _he wanted to scream at Garin. But wait – the kid had said she didn't have a father…_that doesn't mean Lara is not married, or dating someone,_ he thought.

He was ready to continue protesting, but this young girl looked so desperate, he almost couldn't say no. He sighed, stepping off his bike and pulling out the kickstand. His insides felt like jelly. "Alright," he sighed.

"Yes!" she exclaimed. "Thank you so much!"

She pushed open the heavy gate and bounded happily towards the front door. Each step under Kurtis's feet weighed heavily as he inched closer to the door. If he would've just come here in the first place, things might've been different. Then again, Lara's daughter might've been hurt worse by those awful teenage boys…

He didn't want to think about their true intentions. Instead, he focused on the tremendous task of walking forward. The girl approached the door and tried the handle, but groaned when she found it locked. She rang the doorbell several times, facing Kurtis. "They usually leave it unlocked…" she muttered to him.

The shadow of a figure appeared in the window. "Uh, oh," Emily muttered. The front door unlocked, and Kurtis took a subtle step backwards. Then, the front door opened, and a beautiful brunette woman stood on the front step, anger in her eyes as she stared down at the young girl, who immediately lowered her head. "School got out half-an-hour ago," she declared firmly. "Where the hell have you been?" She folded her arms over her chest.

"I'm sorry, Mom," she muttered.

"I specifically told you to…" Then she stopped, taking the girl's hands into her face, gasping. "Emma, what happened?" she breathed.

"Nothing," she said, looking in every direction but her mother's eyes. "I, uh…I tripped."

The woman glared at her. "Did Josh Calloway and his friends do this to you?" she asked slowly.

"No…"

"Don't lie to me, young lady…" she warned.

Emily sighed. "Yes," she muttered. "But I can explain everything! You see, I was at the tea shop, and they came in, and then I tried to leave, but they followed me, so this guy –" She pointed back at Kurtis, stepping in his direction. " – came and told them to bugger off, and I was scared you'd be mad, so I stayed a bit longer and…and…" She looked up at her mother strangely, who seemed to be turning ashen as she rose to a standing position, making eye contact with the man behind her daughter. "Uh…this is Kurtis…he helped me get away…" she continued slowly. Emily glanced confusedly from Kurtis to her mother, then back again. "Um…" she said slowly. "And…"

She looked up at Kurtis as a soft grin crossed his face. "Hey, Lara…" he said slowly.

Before Lara could say anything, her gaze distanced beyond where he stood, and she fell straight to floor, fainting. Emily danced around nervously, screams erupting from her throat. "What the heck happened?" she shouted fearfully. She bolted down the hallway, towards where the tech room had been – still was? – while Kurtis bent down next to Lara, feeling her pulse as he pulled her into his arms to cradle her. "Alister, Zip, come quick! Mom's dead!" he heard Emily shouting from the other room.

Kurtis shook his head with a sigh, slightly amused by Emily's overactive behavior. Then, he turned his attention back to the woman he loved, who rested in his arms. This was the _last_ thing he'd expected to be doing when he reunited with Lara.

* * *

**A rather ridiculous way for them to reunite, but I couldn't help but throw in something especially cheesy XD And how's that for a kicker?! Kurtis was sitting there chatting it up with his daughter without even realizing it...what a fool. **

**OveractiveImaginer: **Totally couldn't bring myself to make him look like a caveman! Haha. Okay...a part of me feels like I've already said that before. Hm...

**SGRaider**: Welcome to the series, my friend! Don't worry, this is not just a domestic little fiction. There will be a revelation of villian(s) eventually...we just have to let it all sink in.

**inmate1099: **You know what...I have no idea how old she was. I don't remember what her 'biography' says she is, officially speaking, but let's just say she was...late twenties...and she still looks better than ever!! XD

**trfanfrombeg**: YOU GUYS ARE NEVER GOING TO DROP THE PAINT ISSUE ARE YOU?!!?!?!? Haha. It WAS funny to say the least, but now it'll be forever embedded in our minds. I should name a chapter 'Paint of the heart' just for the sake of that one mistake. Haha, yeah, but instead of ice cream, I'd find a god card and wave it in his face and say...I'm tormenting you!!! Betcha don't know where that's from, huh? HUH?! XD And hey!! At one point _I_ wanted to be a lawyer!! Haha. By the way, I appreciate the extremly lengthy review. That just totally makes my day!! =D

**Alright kids. There ya have it. I'll catch you on Wednesday, alright?! Stay tuned, and write me some freakishly long reviews, okay?? =D**

***Yugi: I'm tormenting you!!!*  
*Joey: I never knew you could be such an asshole!"**


	4. Pain of the Heart

**Another perfectly-domestic chapter for you guys right here. We don't actually get to the action until chapter six, but you guys don't mind, right? After all, Lara Croft and Kurtis Trent deserve some down-time at SOME point, right?! And I'm glad to see you all seemed to like Emily, haha. I must say, I somewhat fashioned her after myself...except she's a lot less annoying, and a lot nicer in general XD  
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**_Lara sat in the white futon of the main hall, leaned forward with her hands clasped together. She stared at the tiled floor of the grand hallway, although the colors seemed to blend together within her vision. The sounds behind and around her – although they were few – echoed throughout her hearing range, hollow and never-ending. This wasn't supposed to happen. She'd never, ever – in a million years – imagined that this would happen. And within the context of what had happened recently, it was still totally unbelievable._

_Lara wriggled her hands in her lap as she sat leaned forward on the futon, picking at her fingertips as she avoided the stares of her friends from around. She heard footsteps come from around her, then saw Alister seat himself on the futon before her from the corner of her eye. He sighed quietly, although Lara recognized it as a sigh of concern for her more than anything. She heard more footsteps as Winston approached with a brass tray in his hand. She slowly looked up at him with her hollow chocolate eyes. "No, thank you," she said quietly._

"_Drink it," Winston protested. "It's peppermint tea. Your mother drank it when she carried you."_

_Lara met his gaze, longing to challenge him, but knowing he was right, knowing she never could challenge him. She sighed quietly, then took the cup from the tray and held it with her hands. She finally looked up, meeting her gaze with Alister. He sighed quietly again. "Are you alright, Lara?" he asked._

_She sipped the tea gingerly, staring down at the brass coloring. "Better," she admitted. She drummed her fingers along the teacup, drawing in a deep breath. "It's not about the pain anymore, not in the physical aspect…"_

_Zip leaned forward in his seat on the opposite futon. "We know," he said quietly. _

"_I've never…" She swallowed, trying to numb herself to the words so she could properly communicate. "I've never thought that…_this_ would happen."_

"_Perhaps it's not such a bad thing…" Alister said slowly. "It's a scary thought, I can imagine, but…"_

_Lara gripped the cup in her hands, feeling anger rising in her gut. "It's not about the mere idea of…_having_ a baby," she said, whispering the final part, as if she didn't even believe it was possible. "It's…it's just that it's…"_

_Zip leaned forward, sighing quietly. "It's his," he finished for her. "I understand."_

_Lara felt her eyes welling up with tears at the mere thought of her lost lover. "I don't know how I'm supposed to do this," she admitted. "I don't know anything…anything at all…"_

_She felt Winston's hand on her shoulder, and she slowly looked up at him. "We'll be here to help you," he said softly._

_Lara smiled softly. "I know you will," she admitted. She slowly turned her gaze back to the floor. "It's just…seeing him, or her, everyday…" She sighed, looking up at her friends angrily. "How the hell am I supposed to move on if I have to carry his child?" she blurted out. "Everything I've been through up until now…it was nothing compared to what's coming…"_

_Motherhood. Who would've thought so? Lara wasn't prepared for this. She wasn't ready to be a mother. She didn't even know what that meant. She was destined to be the worst mother ever – she was sure of it. She didn't want to have a child. Not at all. But she didn't have much of a choice anymore. Things were going to be different from here on out. She couldn't even begin to imagine how different things would be…_

* * *

Lara slowly stirred, opening her eyes at the dullest pace she could manage. She heard a fire crackling, and when she looked up, she saw the intricate designs of the ceiling in the library. She sighed, raising a hand to her head. What had happened? Had she fallen asleep?

Then, she jerked herself upright, remembering exactly what had happened. She'd fainted in the hallway downstairs, at the sight of her long-lost love. _It had to have been a dream, _she thought. Kurtis couldn't really be back. The mind played tricks quite often, and Lara knew that this was nothing more than a trick.

She dropped her feet to the floor, peering out the window at the clouds. _That was far too strange, _Lara thought. She'd spent the last twelve years trying to purge herself of Kurtis Trent, the Lux knight, but here he was, creeping into her mind again. Not that that could really be helped anyway, when she had to look into his daughter's eyes every day and see not only Emily, but see Kurtis as well.

Lara leaned her head into her hands, drawing in a deep breath. Then, the image of Emily's swollen eye crossed her mind. _Those damned boys, _she thought. Now, she remembered. Josh Calloway, the son of one of London's aristocrats, Henry Calloway, had done that to her daughter. _I have half a mind to pull out my shotgun and blast him away, _she thought. That wasn't how a mother of noble class should think. That was how Lara Croft of twelve years ago had thought. Now, she was a mother. She held title. She attended stupid, boring parties with other stupid, boring rich people, and held down a nine-to-five job several days of the week. She cooked dinner for her daughter. She helped her with her homework on some occasions. She was a gun-wielding, immortal-fighting combatant no longer.

Lara sighed, clasping her hands together, praying for strength. Then, she heard a faint knock on the door. "Come in," she called softly. Winston pushed his way through the door. As frail and old as he was, he was still just as loyal to Lara as he'd always been.

"Are you feeling better, Lady Croft?" he asked.

"Much better," she said. "I don't know what came over me. I guess it's just this weather." She rose to her feet, following Winston out the door and down the hall. "Is Emily downstairs?" she asked.

"Yes," Winston replied. "She's been worried sick about you since your episode in the hallway, but other than that, she's fine. She's entertaining our guest."

"Guest?" Lara asked, stopping in her footsteps.

"An old friend of yours…" Winston said slowly, not stopping, nor turning around.

_It can't have been real,_ Lara thought. The thought of Kurtis Trent still being alive was enough to make her weak at the knees and sick to her stomach. She drew in a quick, deep breath and then picked up her pace again, ever-so slowly. She followed Winston down the stairs to the first floor. Lara heard voices coming from the recreational room. She heard Alister. She heard Zip. She heard Emily. She heard…Kurtis? _No, no..._she thought. _It's not real...it's my mind playing tricks..._

Lara rounded the corner to see all of her friends and her daughter seated in the room. Her feet grounded to a halt beneath her, but she fought to remain casual, as though nothing was wrong. Alister looked up, smiling subtly. "Glad to see you're alive and well," he commented.

Emily jumped from her chair and rushed towards Lara, nearly knocking her down with the force of her embrace. "I thought you'd died!" she exclaimed.

Lara chuckled a bit, confused, and returned her daughter's hug. "I'm quite alright, darling," she replied. She pulled her away so she could look at her. "But you? God, your eye looks terrible."

"It's not too bad…" Emily said.

"Let's get that cleaned up," Lara said. She led Emily down the hall, without a second glance towards Kurtis, Alister, or Zip.

Kurtis sighed, leaning forward. "Cheer up, old chap," Alister said. "She's just…scared. She'd given up on your return ages ago, and tried to find closure and move on."

"We all did," Zip admitted solemnly. "The last thing we expected was for you to crawl out of some other dimension and show up on our doorstep."

"Not that we're not elated to see you," Alister added quickly. "It's just quite a shock. For everyone."

"Everyone except Emily…" Zip said passively, rubbing his neck.

"You _had_ to go there, didn't you?" Alister scolded.

"What?" Zip asked defensively. "She's the only one who –"

"That's quite enough," Alister finished. He turned towards Kurtis again. "She'll come around in a bit. What else is she going to do? Ignore you for the rest of the time?"

"It wouldn't surprise me," Kurtis muttered, rising.

"Listen, man," Zip said, rising with him. "Just go talk to her. Hear her out, and she'll do the same for you. Trust me on this."

Alister rose, scoffing. "Trust _him._ There's an idea…"

Zip glared in his direction, but then turned back to Kurtis. "Seriously."

"Alright," Kurtis said with disbelief. "I'll do it."

Zip headed off in his own direction towards the tech room, and Alister headed towards the library. Nothing had changed with those two. They didn't even look much older, surprisingly. But Lara – she looked just as beautiful as she always had. A little different, but no less beautiful. Her hair was probably about eight inches shorter, and was neatly let down in straight strands cascading over her shoulders. She was dressed in a relaxed-professional pantsuit with a white, button-down three-quarter-sleeve shirt. She looked like a proper business woman. And...was she wearing..._makeup_? That was strange. It wasn't a bad thing, just very different. She still looked beautiful. If anything, she looked better than ever. Had time even tinged her at all? Here Kurtis was, feeling like an old bastard – older than Winston – and she still seemed to be the same vibrant soul she'd always been. Of course, he didn't look much different himself anyway. He had a bit of a five-o' clock-shadow, and his skin was somewhat pale, but overall, he just looked…tired.

With a sigh, Kurtis trudged up the stairs in the direction he'd seen Lara go. He couldn't help but chuckle a bit at her fainting in the hallway. _Straight out of a movie,_ he thought. The boys were right, though – she was completely shocked over his sudden appearance. It was likely the last thing she'd ever expected. She'd probably have expected a meteor to land on the manor before Kurtis would've returned.

And then…there was Emily, the spirited, young, lively girl with a heart of gold, and enough curiosity to send her to the ends of the world. Kurtis wasn't an idiot. The minute Lara opened the door and scolded the child, and the minute she'd glanced back and forth between Lara and Kurtis, he knew. _No wonder her eyes looked so…vivid,_ he thought. He'd seen himself inside of her. Having a child, though, was the last thing he'd expected. What was he supposed to do? Had he trapped himself in a can of worms?

_Talk to Lara first,_ he told himself. He moved down the hall in the direction Lara and Emily had taken, drawing in a deep breath, and praying for valor as he went to find the woman he loved.

* * *

"Ow!" Emily muttered, sitting on the bathroom countertop as Lara pressed a wet rag to her cheekbone.

"Relax," Lara commanded. She pressed the rag to her temple this time, and Emily winced in pain, drawing in a breath through her teeth. She closed her eyes, tensing her body as Lara dabbed on a bit of antiseptic over the cut. She clung to the bathroom counter, praying for it to be over soon. "So do you want to tell me exactly what this was about?" Lara asked, removing some more antiseptic from the first aid kit.

Emily sighed, embracing the small break from the pain. "I was heading home from school," she began. "Josh, Michael, and Steven came up to me and were trying to take my money, so I ran down the street to the tea shop, and I tried to get out before they saw me, but they saw me first. Josh pushed me against the wall. I elbowed him in the face and tried to leave, but Steven punched me in the face, and I couldn't get away. Then –"

"Then I came in and scared them away," a voice said.

Lara quickly turned around and faced Kurtis, as he stood in the doorway, his arms folded over his chest, a soft grin on his face. Emily grinned. "Yeah," she said. "You should've seen it, Mom! I've never seen them so scared!"

Lara turned back towards Emily, dabbing a cotton swab in medicinal liquid. "So why is it that Josh Calloway has it out for you?"

Emily shrugged. "I don't know."

"Yes, you do," Lara argued.

Emily sighed. "I kind of...snatched some of his money out of his backpack one day."

Lara looked at her incredulously. "You _what_?"

"I forgot my money at home, and I had nothing to eat at lunch! So before I got to school that morning, he was stopped at the crosswalk standing in front of me and his backpack wasn't zipped completely shut, so I just kind of..." She made the motion of plucking several pounds out of an imaginary compartment before her. "Took it!"

Lara sighed, raising the cotton swab to her daughter's eye. "You need to stay away from those boys," Lara said. "They're nothing but trouble." Lara pressed the cotton swab to the bleeding areas of Emily's eye. Emily cringed, muttered her pain under her breath. "Stop fidgeting," Lara ordered. "You'll only make it worse."

Emily closed her eyes, doing her best to be brave. Then, she opened one eye, peeking out at Kurtis. "So do you guys know each other?"

Lara slowly glanced back at Kurtis, made eye contact, then turned back to her task of patching Emily up. "We're old friends," Lara said quietly.

"Oh, I get it!" Emily said. "My mom is the lady you were talking about in the tea shop!"

Lara faced Kurtis with confusion. "What?"

"He said he was looking for a friend…" Emily said. Then, she'd realized she'd said too much. "Okay, I'm going to go now," she said nervously. She tried to hop off the counter, but Lara pushed her back up.

"I'm not finished yet," she snapped. Lara sighed, immediately regretting growing angry with her daughter. Everything was falling over her so suddenly, and it was just a bit too much. She removed a small white patch from the kit and placed it on the antiseptic that was already over the cut. The bandage was barely visible. "There," Lara said, brushing her hands off and standing to her feet. "You're all finished."

Emily hopped off the counter, facing Kurtis timidly. "Do you want to stay for dinner?" she asked slowly.

Kurtis glanced up at Lara, who immediately jerked her head around, glaring at her daughter. Emily looked up innocently. "What?" she asked. "He's a guest. You always say guests are welcome here…"

"Emily…" Lara said, sighing a bit.

"What?" she asked again. "Please, Mom? I'll be really good. I promise!"

"I don't know if…Mr. Trent…wants to stay here…" she said, making eye contact with Kurtis.

Kurtis glanced down at the pleading child once again, exhaling a bit. "If your mother doesn't mind having me…"

Emily turned back to Lara. "Mom?" she asked quickly.

Lara held Kurtis's gaze for a moment, then closed her eyes, sighing as she painted her face with a weak smile of approval. "That will be fine."

"Yes! Thank you!" Emily exclaimed, hugging her mother. "I'll go downstairs and help Winston straight away!" The next thing they knew, Emily had bolted from the room and down the stairs to the first floor, leaving Lara and Kurtis alone together. Lara sighed quietly, pulling her arms into her chest, and suppressing a small, nervous chuckle as she made eye contact with Kurtis. He offered a grin in return, pressing himself off the door. "She's really something," Kurtis said, chuckling a bit.

Lara laughed a little in agreement. "Yes, she's quite the fireball."

"Like her mother…" he commented, holding her gaze for a moment.

Lara's humorous smile slowly dropped, and she cleared her throat. "If you don't want to stay for dinner, you don't have to. Emily tends to be a nag…"

"If you don't want me to stay for dinner, I don't have to," he said. "It's not like I have anywhere else to be."

"Right, of course," she said. "No, it's fine. It's not that I mind. I just didn't want you to feel obligated or anything…" Her voice trailed off.

Kurtis slowly approached her, reaching a hand up to her face. "Obligated is the farthest thing from it," he said, stroking the soft skin of her cheek. She looked into his eyes, and the minute she felt the warmth from his soft touch that she'd longed for for twelve years, she felt herself go weak at the knees. She closed her eyes, reveling in the sensation of his fingertips against her skin. Lara wanted nothing more than for him to wrap his arms around her and hold her until the end of time.

She felt his breath upon her mouth, and she knew he was just centimeters away from kissing her. _This doesn't feel right,_ she thought. Of course she wanted him – all of him – but they very well couldn't go straight to bed the first instant they were reunited. She opened her eyes, looking down before Kurtis could kiss her. Then, she looked back up at him, her eyes swamped with regret and fear. "I-I should go downstairs and make sure all is going well for dinner," she said quickly.

Kurtis sighed. "Always making excuses," he said softly. He held her gaze for another moment. _You're not getting away from me this time, Croft, _he thought. He leaned closer to her, and could feel her nerves shattering throughout her body. She took a soft step backwards until her head brushed against the wood paneling of the wall. Kurtis grinned softly. _You can't run anymore,_ he thought. He leaned close to her body until they touched, trapping her between himself and the wall behind her. He reached his hands on both sides of her head, then leaned his face closer to hers, meeting the moisture of her soft lips. He half-expected her to protest, and to some extent, she did. Instead of returning the kiss, she stood in place, half-dazed. After a moment, though, she reached her hands around his neck, pulling his mouth towards hers, igniting a fiery kiss between the two of them that had been reluctantly held off for twelve years.

Then, Lara broke the embrace, pulling away. "I can't do this," she said, wedging her way out of the small space she'd been constricted to. She faced away from Kurtis, drawing her arms to her chest. "It just doesn't work." She faced him. "I haven't seen you in twelve years, and…and you come into my life so unexpectedly…" She sighed. "I don't know what to do, Kurtis. You have to understand where I'm coming from."

"Of course I do," he said softly. "But..." He walked slowly towards her until they stood just inches apart. Lara sighed in her mind as he moved closer. She could smell him. She could see the ocean-blue in his eyes. She could feel his lips over her skin, although at the moment they were only curved into that cocky grin of his. He drew even closer, until he stood just before her, staring into her eyes. For a moment, she felt afraid - of herself, more than anything, of the loss of control she would experience if he kissed her even once more. Then, she in turn realized she was also afraid of him, afraid of the very true fact that this man standing before her had enough power in a move as subtle as a taunting grin to move a woman like Lara Croft to shattered pieces that only _he_ could hold in his hands - and after twelve years! That was perhaps the scariest point of it all.

Kurtis drew his fingers under her chin and tilted her head so that their eyes met. They were just centimeters away from kissing, yet again, but Lara knew he would rather assert his rhetoric over her with one simple yet complex question before he engulfed her in another intimate connection. "...what are you so afraid of?"

Lara held his gaze for a moment, sadness overtaking her. Then, she slowly pulled away from his mesmerizing grip, drawing herself into the stamina of an appropriate business woman who would never let anything fall out of her control. So long as she convinced herself that this was what she was, she could fight him. She could fight herself. She just needed to change colors, to realize that as much as she'd loved Kurtis Trent - oh, hell, as much as she _still _loved him - _she_ was still in control here, so long as she stayed focused. She tilted her chin up, trying to hold her gaze with the man before her. "For the next few hours – at least until Emma goes to bed – could we just pretend like…like we're just a pair of old friends visiting?"

Kurtis stared into her eyes, hurt by her request, yet, in a way, understanding exactly where she'd come from. His smooth approach and the power he'd had just seconds ago died in an instant, and he felt defeated. Once again, he'd lost to Lara's pride. "If that's what you want, Lara," he sighed, brushing past her.

"Of course it's not," she said. "But it's only –"

"Practical," he said, facing her with a look of plea. If anything, it was more of a look of boredom, as if he were tired of hearing Lara exhaust that one tedious word. _Practical._

"For now, at least," she agreed. "Emily…she doesn't know anything about her father…" She sighed, closing her eyes. "I _have_ to protect her. I just have to, and right now, protecting her involves holding back from you. She's just a child – she wouldn't understand."

"I think you underestimate her," Kurtis said, "but moreover, you underestimate yourself." He opened the door to leave through the hallway. "I won't say anything, and I won't do anything," he said. "I just wish you'd realize that you're hurting yourself more than anyone else when you try to pretend everything is normal."

Lara stared straight ahead at him as he softly closed the door behind him, heading down the stairs to the first floor. She sighed to herself, knowing he was right. _He doesn't understand! _she argued with herself. _I have to look out for Emily, first and foremost, and if that involves holding back some of my feelings for him, then so be it._

But he was right – she was more afraid for herself. She hadn't had the slightest feelings of fear – in this context, anyway – in twelve years, when she'd thought it had all died away.

* * *

**Well, if you guys thought Lara would change, nope! Obviously, she's still fighting. She's still the same old Lara from before. See, and you thought I'd completely change her just because she had a kid...*sigh* Where is your faith, man?! Take Emily away completely, and Lara is no different than before.  
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**Jade the Grey: ***gasp* Lucky! Lucky for the rock concert, and lucky for living in Belgium! =D Hope you had fun. Hearing all of this makes me picture a mountainous region with a big stage, flood lights, and fog at about eight at night as the sun is going down, and Revolverheld rocking out before me (yeah, yeah, I know they're German, but don't ask why THEY popped into my head!!....man, Johannes Strate sure is one good-looking guy) Wir sind die Generation Rock...XD But anyway...I am honored that you checking my story was the second thing you did once you returned home, haha.

**trfanfrombeg**: Haha, I thought of making her do that to him, but I couldn't bring myself to. She was nice to him for a change XD Yeah, it is evident early on that she totally loves/admires him. It's my own personal wish fulfillment that I was close to my dad, haha XD

**I thought you all would like that..."MOM'S DEAD!" Haha. I couldn't help it. Well...I will see you guys on Saturday with chapter five! Thanks for the patronage thus far! I look forward to youguyses reviews SOOO much!!! =D**


	5. Missed Time

**For once, I have nothing real to say. Read on! =D**

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**"No, don't hold the knife like that," Winston instructed to Emily. "Turn it this way." He helped her to properly hold the large chopping knife in her hands, and then slide it down to cut the carrots into an appropriate size. "There you go," he said. "You've got the hang of it."

Emily proceeded to chop the next set of carrots, ever so slowly, as if uncertain of her ability to perform the task. Then, she increased the speed along, chopping away. Alister entered the kitchen. "Smells delicious in here," he said. "How's it all coming along?"

"Spectacularly," Emily replied. "We're having pot roast and French bread."

"Mind if I try some of the soup…?" Alister teased, leaning over the pot.

"Get away from there!" Emily ordered. "You'll ruin the illusion of the meal."

Alister chuckled. "Alright, then. I'll hold off."

Emily chuckled to herself, then continued to chop the carrots. She looked up through the kitchen window, out to the gray clouds and past the falling rain. She squinted her eyes – was that Kurtis sitting in the garden? She set the knife down and quickly washed off her hands. "I'll be back, Winston," she said.

Emily exited through the side kitchen door, covering her head as she reached the stone gazebo where Kurtis was seated. She leaned over the rock railing. "What are you doing?" she asked curiously.

"Having a smoke," he replied, taking a drag from his cigarette.

"That causes cancer, you know," she said.

He chuckled. "Now you sound like your mother."

Emily shuffled her feet, then looked up at Kurtis. "When did you two meet, anyway? She's never mentioned you…"

Kurtis scoffed in his mind. _Of course she hasn't_, he thought. He understood why, though. "I have to protect Emily," Lara would say. _More like over protect, _he thought. He took another drag, exhaling the smoke. "We met about fifteen years ago," he said. "I've just been…traveling a lot ever since."

"Oh," she said quietly. She picked at her nails nervously, then looked up at him again. "Do you like her?"

The question caught him off guard, and he looked up at her abruptly. "What?" he asked, chuckling a bit.

Emily shrugged her shoulders, taking a step inside the gazebo and seating herself on the stone railing. "You know…_like_ her, like her."

He looked out to the garden, then grinned up at Emily with amusement. "You ask a lot of questions, kid."

"Well, do you?" she persisted.

Kurtis chuckled again, deciding he would play along with this child's persistence. He looked up at her. "Promise not to tell?" he humored her.

She nodded quickly, grinning. "I swear."

"Then, yes," he said. "I do like her." _I love her,_ he thought.

Emily grinned devilishly. "I _knew_ it," she said. "I just knew it!" She grabbed the stone rail above and slid off the railing she was seated on, standing to her feet. "I think it's cool. Mom doesn't date. In fact, I don't think I've ever seen her with a man outside of business. She just seems so…" She sighed.

Kurtis looked up at her. "So what?"

"So…I don't know," she said. "Heartbroken, I guess. I mean, she always makes time to yell at me, and to get her work done, and act like everything's okay, but sometimes, she just kind of goes off quietly, like she just wants to be alone." She drew in a quiet breath, gazing out to the fountain in the distance. "I think she misses my dad. She's never talked to me about him, and every time I ask, she just tells me stop pestering her. It makes me sad, though. I don't want her to be sad. I want her to be happy."

Kurtis slowly glanced out, towards the rose bush in the distance. _I know she misses him, _he thought. _She just won't admit it. Not yet, anyways…_"Heartbreak is a painful thing," he said.

Emily nodded, turning to face him. "I'm sure," she said. "But…" She drew in a silent breath, making eye contact with Kurtis. "It's funny. You see, she always seems so lifeless, but the minute she opened the door and saw you standing there, she seemed so…" She grinned softly. "So _happy._ It was like she was shocked and surprised, but underneath it all, she was just happy."

Kurtis let a small grin cross his face. "Well, she's your mother. You would be able to tell when she's happy or not."

"She _was,_" Emily assured him. "Trust me."

"I believe you," he replied.

Kurtis rose to his feet, looking around for an ashtray. Normally, he would just drop the cigarette on the ground, but in this case, being in Lara's stately home, he wouldn't be so rude. He sighed, pressing the tip into his hand, and putting it out. It stung for a moment, but he quickly used his telepathic energy to heal it in an instant. Then, he'd realized his mistake. Emily was staring right at him, confused and shocked. "How did you do that?" she asked slowly.

He glanced down at his palm where the ring should've been. Emily quickly grabbed his hand, searching for a mark, as if it were an optical illusion. Then, she looked up at him, even more confused. "Where'd it go?"

He pulled his hand away from hers, chuckling nervously. "Nowhere," he said. "I didn't burn myself or anything…" he lied. Emily continued to stare up at him in confusion and shock, even as he walked away, heading back towards the manor.

* * *

  
Lara stared out the side window, her arms folded over her chest. She gazed out towards the garden gazebo, where her daughter sat on the stone railing, talking to Kurtis.

Kurtis, the man she'd loved for over twelve years. The man who had broken her heart when she'd thought he would be lost from her forever. The man who left her with a beautiful child, and ironically enough, without even the knowledge of Emily's existence. Now, here he was, sitting in her stone gazebo in the garden, conversing with their daughter as though they'd been best friends all along.

Lara sighed, hearing footsteps approach her from behind. She turned to see Alister, and offered him a soft smile. "Is everything alright, Lara?" he asked.

She faced out the window again. "All is well, Alister," she said. "I'm just thinking."

Alister gazed out the window with her, watching as Emily slid off the stone railing and onto her feet. "They seem to be hitting it off quite well," he speculated.

"Emily is quite a social butterfly," Lara agreed. "It's just funny how everything works out."

"Indeed," Alister said. "Your long-lost lover, also the father of your child, saves her life from a pack of bullies down the street, and the next thing you know, he's standing in your home, conversing with you and your daughter as though nothing has happened."

"He knows," Lara said, mostly to herself. "Of course he knows that she's his. He has to know."  
"Oh, he knows alright," Alister agreed. "Is that a bad thing?"

"No," Lara said. "Not at all. But…" She sighed. "How will Emily handle it when I have to explain everything to her?"

"She should be fine," Alister consoled. "She's a strong young girl. Just like her mother…"

Lara glanced back at him, smiling weakly. Then, she returned her gaze out to the two in the garden. "That's what I'm afraid of," she admitted.

"And how are you handling all of this?" Alister asked.

"Just like I handle everything else," she said passively.

"Right," Alister said, hardly believing her. "Because you _always_ faint at the sight of an old friend."

"Not now, Alister," Lara sighed wearily. "This is about Emma. Not about me."

Alister sighed, heading away. "It's about all three of you," he disagreed. Then, he headed down the hallway and out of sight. Lara drew in a deep breath, watching as Kurtis headed back towards the manor, and Emily stayed behind, looking dazed and confused. Lara narrowed her eyes at Kurtis as he entered through the side door, nearly bumping into Lara as he did so.

"Hey," he said casually.

"What did you say to her?" Lara asked slowly. "She looks like she's trying to solve a math problem out there."

Kurtis chuckled, glancing out as Emily made her way towards the house. "She, uh…she just witnessed some of my powers." Lara sighed, turning to walk away. Kurtis followed after her. "So she doesn't know about the Lux Veritatis? Or about any of it?"

"No," she doesn't," Lara confirmed. "I see no need to tell her."

"No need?" Kurtis asked, folding his arms over her chest. Lara turned to face him, glaring into his eyes challengingly, as if daring him to argue with her. They stood where they were for the next moment, staring into each other's eyes, both fighting a private battle inside themselves, as well as with each other.

They heard scuffles behind them, and looked up in time to see Winston poking his head out of the dining room, and Emily standing beside him with a bowl of salad in her hands, confused at the sight before her. "Dinner is served," Winston announced.

Lara sighed quietly. "Thank you, Winston," she said. She brushed her way past Kurtis, and towards the dining room. Winston followed behind. Emily watched as her mother walked past them, then turned her gaze to Kurtis, who, if possible, looked just as angry as her mother had. For once, Emily knew better than to ask what was going on. Instead, she turned towards the dining room, carrying the bowl of salad with her.

Kurtis sighed to himself, running his fingers through his hair, and heading in the direction of the dining room.

* * *

  
Emily stared up at the ceiling, lying in her bed later that evening. _That was the most awkward meal I've ever had,_ she thought. Her mother had hardly spoken, and when spoken to, she'd snapped everyone's heads off. Kurtis hadn't spoken much, and whenever Alister or Zip spoke, it was to make a comment on the weather, or make some stupid joke, or something of the sort.

Emily sighed, rolling over on her side. All she wanted was a father. The likelihood of her ever meeting her real father – if he was even alive – was slim to none. Kurtis seemed nice enough, and he and her mother had known each other long enough. If she could just convince her mom to stop being so bitchy, maybe they would start dating, and eventually get married! _Kurtis would be a cool dad,_ Emily thought, grinning to herself. She just needed to figure out ways to throw them together…

Emily heard a faint rapping on her door, and looked up in time to see light coming in as her mother entered. "You're in bed already?" Lara asked.

Emily rolled over to face her. "I'm tired," she said.

"I should imagine so," she said, seating herself on the edge of Emily's bed. "You've had quite the day."

Emily picked at the edge of her comforter, then gazed up at her mother. "Do you like Kurtis?" she asked quietly.

Lara sighed, glaring at her, yet smiling at the same time. "You are too nosy for your own good."

"It's just a question," Emily said.

"Nothing you need to worry about," Lara said, pulling the comforter over Emily's shoulders.

"But, I want to know…" she protested.

"Go to sleep," Lara urged. She kissed her on her forehead, then turned away.

"It's okay if you do," Emily called softly from under the blankets. Lara stopped and faced her as she rolled over, facing the opposite wall. "He seems like a good person."

Lara stared at the shapes beneath the blankets, taking in her daughter's blessing of, well, her father. _That makes things a lot easier for future reference, _Lara thought. A subtle grin crossed her lips, and she turned, exiting the room and closing the door. _Now to find Kurtis, _she thought.

She saw the door to the study cracked open a bit, and saw the flicker of light just beyond it. Alister, Zip, and Winston had already retired to bed, so she knew it could only be Kurtis in the study. She drew in a deep breath, then headed forward, moving towards the study. She quietly pushed the door open, then saw Kurtis standing before the fire, glancing up at the portrait above it. Lara closed the door behind her. "I'm kind of embarrassed by that one," she said quietly. The picture was of Lara and Emily, when Emily was just five years old. Her smile matched the one she still carried today – still so vibrant and alive. Lara, however, looked like she was forcing the smile, like she didn't even know herself.

Kurtis glanced in Lara's direction, grinning. "I have to agree," he said. "Emily looks cute, but you look pissed off."

"How should I have been?" she asked calmly. "I'd lost you five years before, and I was stuck with your child." Immediately, she regretted the words. She closed her eyes, sighing as she seated herself wearily on the nearby sofa. "That's not what I meant…" she muttered.

"I know," he said.

"It's just been so difficult," she said. "I've had to come home everyday to Emily, to look into her eyes and see not only her, but you. Do you know what that feels like?"

"I can't imagine," he said softly.

"There's so much I want to ask you, to tell you…" she said slowly. "I just don't know where to begin."

"You're not alone," he sighed, seating himself next to her. "Just don't ask me anything about Lemuria."

She eyed him suspiciously for a moment. "Alright, then," she agreed slowly. Lara looked into his eyes, smiling a bit. "It was…awfully nice and brave of you to stand up for Emily."

"Against a couple of high school kids?" Kurtis scoffed. "It was nothing."

"Bystander nonintervention," Lara shrugged. "A lot of people would've just walked on."

"I'm not like a lot of people," he said.

She searched his eyes. "I know," she said softly.

"She's given me her approval to have feelings for you," Kurtis said, grinning.

Lara looked to him strangely. "What?"

"Outside in the garden," he said. "She asked if I 'liked you'."

"And?" Lara asked slowly.

"And I said yes," he said. "I'm not going to lie to her. She's obviously far beyond her years."

"Yes, she is something of a genius," Lara chuckled softly.

Kurtis sighed, staring forward. "Well, I technically did lie to her," he said. He looked into her eyes. "I don't like you. I _love_ you. I haven't stopped loving you."

Lara felt tears coming to her eyes, but she blinked them away, looking up at Kurtis. "And neither have I," she confessed. "It's just been so difficult. I wasn't sure if I should move on, or hold on, or _what…_"

"Yeah," Kurtis said. "Garin did mention that you'd tried to…forget."

"You spoke with Garin?" she asked quickly.

"I was trying to communicate with him from Lemuria," Kurtis said. "Fortunately, he'd gotten the messages and came to my rescue in Maldives."

Lara nodded, slowly looking away. "Did he…say anything else?"

"No," he said. "And he didn't tell me anything about Emily, before you ask." Lara breathed relief. It wasn't that she cared if Garin said anything, she just felt it was her right – no, her duty – to be the one to tell Kurtis. Although at this point, he was obviously aware that she was his daughter. "Tell me more about her," Kurtis asked quietly.

Lara looked up at him, laughing nervously and confusedly. "What do you want to know?" she asked.

"Everything," Kurtis answered. "I'd never imagined myself having children, but the moment I realized that she was…well, half of me, it just felt…right." Lara felt her heart melting inside. She'd always imagined that if Kurtis ever did return and found out about Emily, he would've run in the opposite direction. That was the stereotype she had of most men, anyway. _I'm not like most guys,_ Kurtis would've said, and Lara knew it was true. She hadn't expected to be so overly ecstatic over the idea that Kurtis _wanted_ to know his daughter. _Anyone who is okay with Emma is okay with me,_ Lara thought. _Even if I would've had to hold Kurtis to that criteria._

Lara laughed a bit in relief. "I wouldn't know where to begin," she admitted. Then, she got the idea. She stood up and rummaged through one of the nearby cabinets, removing a box full of photographs. She placed them on the table beside Kurtis. "These are some old photographs of Emma when she was younger. You're welcome to go through them."

Kurtis gingerly picked up one of the photographs. In the picture, Emily was holding up a small fish, still attached to the fishing line. She had a smile ten miles wide on her face. Lara smiled, staring down at the picture. "That was the first fish she caught," Lara said. "Alister and Zip took her fishing for the first time when she was eight."

"And she caught it all by herself?" he asked, grinning.

"Suprisingly, yes," she laughed.

Kurtis returned the picture to the box, then removed another one, gazing down at the beautiful baby girl with her finger in her mouth and a red ribbon in her hair, sitting on her mother's lap. "Her first Christmas?" Kurtis asked.

Lara smiled. "Yes," she replied. "She fell asleep in my lap before she even reached the presents."

Kurtis chuckled as he returned the picture to the box. He removed another one. This photograph was of Emily dressed in a karate uniform, at the age of ten years old. A man was standing before her, demonstrating the proper way to move and stand. She looked up at him with the intense desire to learn more. Kurtis lowered the photo a bit. "Who is that?" he asked of the man.

Lara glanced down at the picture. "Charles Windor," she replied. "He was Emma's karate coach."

Kurtis didn't know why, but he felt himself growing angry. He tossed the photograph down on the table and rose, leaning over the fireplace. Lara eyed him curiously, approaching his side, and placing a tender hand of compassion on his shoulder. "What's wrong?" she asked softly.

He sighed, slowly facing her. "This isn't how it was supposed to be," he replied slowly. "_I_ should be the one in that picture. _I_ should've been here to help raise her. _I _should've been here to be with you, and love you, and to comfort you."

"Kurtis, you can't help what happened," she pointed out.

"It doesn't matter," he said. "I've lost twelve years of my fucking life in that hell-hole. I've lost twelve years of loving you. I've lost the first twelve years of my daughter's life. Don't try to convince me that it's all alright."

Lara understood where he was coming from, and she immediately felt guilty for removing the photographs. She quickly scooped them up and returned them to the box, taking the box back to the cabinet. Kurtis remained still, leaned over the fireplace, deep in thought. Lara approached him, trying to find the right words to say. "She wouldn't blame you, you know," she told him. "She's so very wise for her years. She would understand."

"You don't know that," he muttered.

"I do know that," she argued. "She's my daughter, and I know her well."

Kurtis sighed deeply, turning around to face Lara. For a moment, she feared him. His eyes were glossed over with anger, and a tinge of hatred. _If I could just figure out what he's thinking,_ she thought. She opened her mouth to speak, but was startled by the girlish scream coming down the hall from Emily's room.

* * *

**FINALLY we're getting to some action!!**

**OveractiveImaginer: **I kinda explain in the next story how that works out that she never knew her father's name, haha.

**Jade the Grey**: Gah, lucky. I wanted to see Metallica when they toured in our city a few months ago -_-

**bettie91**: Hahahaha. I was going to kill him off, but things just wouldn't be the same without that frail old man.

**Alright boys and girls. Chapter six will be up on Tuesday! So hang on for the WILD ride!! =D**


	6. The New Age

**Hey, Paizanos! We're back again with chapter six! Although there is action in this chapter, you don't find out the full extent of the damage until NEXT chapter, so bear with me here.**

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* * *

  
**Lara quickly bolted down the hallway towards her daughter's room, Kurtis hot on her heels. She threw the door open to see a foreign figure of a man standing along the wall, pinning Emily against the wall with his hand. His hand was raised back, and it glowed with green energy. Lara's stomach dropped, and she'd expected herself to react more quickly, but she didn't. She adopted the old habit of reaching for her holstered pistol, but found herself reaching for empty air. Kurtis quickly removed his gun from his holster, aiming it at the man.

"No!" Lara protested, with the fear that Kurtis would hit Emily. She should've known better. Kurtis Trent never missed a target. He opened fire and shot the man in the leg, and the man slumped to the ground, crying out in pain. Emily screamed as the gun went off, then cowered against the wall, her legs crumpling like jelly. Kurtis kept his weapon trained on the fallen man while Lara rushed to Emily's side, holding her to offer consolation. Kurtis bent down near the man, overturning his body so he could look him in the eye. The man immediately reached out, striking Kurtis in the face. Kurtis slowly turned towards him, then backhanded him with the gun. "Kurtis," Lara breathed, indicating that their young daughter was watching everything. _Sorry, _he apologized to her. She nodded, and he turned his attention back to the man, pressing the gun into the man's throat.

"Who are you?" Kurtis demanded. The man cursed at him in some foreign language, which only angered Kurtis more. "Try speaking English, buddy," he ordered.

"The Lux knights will be finished by our master's work," he said in a low, evil voice. "Even the children."

_Our master…_Kurtis thought. Where had he heard that before? Then he remembered. It was twelve years ago, just beyond the bar up the street from his dumpy apartment building in Avignon, France. He and Davis Aicard had chased down the bastards who'd blown up his bike, and had come to realize that they were followers of the Cabal. They weren't just mercenaries – they were actually Cabal members. _Even the children? _Kurtis thought. Was this man implying that Emily possessed some kind of psychic power? Kurtis pulled the man up by the neck of his shirt. "What the hell are you talking about?" he asked, pretending to not know anything.

"The New Age is coming," he continued. Then he chanted something in a foreign language again. "You will all be slaves soon enough."

Kurtis glanced up at Lara, who continued to hold her young daughter in her arms. Then, Kurtis turned down towards the man, pressing the gun further into his neck. Then, the man reached up, gripped Kurtis's hand, pulled the gun towards him, and a shot echoed through the house. Emily screamed again, turning away fearfully into her mother's embrace. Kurtis stepped back, staring down at the suicidal follower of the Cabal. Then, he looked up at Lara, nothing but seriousness in his eyes. "It's Karel," he said.

Kurtis could see a million questions swamp into Lara's eyes, but she held them back, aware of the impact that this had already had on Emily. Lara slowly helped her daughter to her feet, ushering her down the stairs. Kurtis stared down at the dead body, then holstered his weapon, following after Lara and Emily.

Alister and Zip had emerged from their room, standing at the top of the stairs. "What in the bleeding hell is going on?" Alister asked quickly.

"Alister, put on a pot of tea," Lara ordered quickly. "Zip, go downstairs and turn on the security system."

Without second questions, they both headed down the stairs to do as they were told. Lara led her trembling daughter into the rec-room downstairs, seating her on the couch. Her face was ashen, and she was shaking violently, curled into a ball against the armrest of the couch as Lara continued to hold her. "Are you alright?" Lara asked quickly. "He didn't hurt you, did he?"

"N-No," Emily stuttered. "Who was that, Mom?"

Lara glanced up at Kurtis, as they debated silently together as to whether or not they should explain to Emily. _He already threatened her life, _Lara concluded. _She might as well hear the whole story._ Kurtis seated himself on the opposite couch, facing Lara and Emily with a look of concern on her face. Emily drew in a deep breath, trying to calm herself. "Why do you have a gun?" she asked Kurtis.

He drew in a silent breath. "For people like that guy."

"Are you a cop?" she asked.

"Emily, there is a lot we have to tell you," Lara interrupted.

"Like what?" she asked, sitting forward. "I want to know what's going on. Who was that guy, what did he want with me, and why does Kurtis have a gun?"

Lara drew in a deep breath. "Several years before you were born, Kurtis and I worked together. We were archaeologists –"

"Like you are now…?" Emily added.

"Somewhat," Lara said. "Only back in those days, we did something between archaeology and…well, something like police work."

"What do you mean?" she asked.

"The artifacts we found were things we'd often risk our lives for, because other people wanted them, and they weren't afraid to threaten our lives to get what they wanted."

"So…you were like Indiana Jones?" she asked.

"Basically," Lara replied.

"So…what does that have to do with what happened with that guy?"

Lara glanced at Kurtis, because she didn't have the answer. She didn't have the answers about the Cabal and about Karel, which was exactly what this was about. Thankfully, Alister entered the room, carrying a tray of tea and setting it down on the table before them. "So would anyone like to explain the gunfire?" Alister asked, rising.

"We're getting there," Kurtis said.

"He was obviously with the Cabal," Lara speculated. "But I thought that you and the brothers had taken care of Karel back in Lemuria…?"

"I thought so, too," Kurtis said. "I don't know how he could have survived."

"Regardless, we _have_ to put the manor on lockdown," Lara said. "He's obviously alive and kicking, and he's got it out for us."

"Will someone _please_ tell me what the heck is going on?" Emily interrupted.

"When your mother and I met," Kurtis began, "we were being tracked by a man named Karel. He was the leader of an ancient cult called the Cabal, and he was hell-bent on destroying us, and everyone else of my kind."

"Your kind?" she asked with confusion.

"I'm part of an ancient order called the Lux Veritatis," Kurtis continued. "The generations before me were murdered in their attempts to defeat the Cabal."

"This sounds like a really weird ghost story," Emily said skeptically.

"It does," Kurtis agreed. "But it's true. And Karel might have it out for us."

"What does he want with the 'Lux Ver-ee-tah-tess'?" she asked slowly.

"To kill us," Kurtis put simply.

"What?" she asked abruptly. "Why?"

"To protect himself."

"Then what did that guy up there want with me?" she prodded.

Lara looked up at Kurtis, knowing there would only be one way to explain this. Kurtis, however, wasn't finished. "Emily, is there any reason to believe you would possess…psychic powers?" Kurtis asked slowly.

"What?" she asked as if he were crazy. "Yeah, right." She looked up at him, and he held his gaze with her, staring deep into her eyes as if he didn't believe her. Then, she exhaled the breath she'd been holding. "Okay, fine," she muttered. "I can…I can do some weird things."

"Such as…?" Kurtis asked.

"I'll show you," she said, rising. She left the room, then returned in a brief moment. In her hands, she held a small, metal lighter. She flicked it open, then drew in a deep breath, looking up at Kurtis and Lara to make sure they were watching. Then, she released the flame. She reached forward with her free hand, and then summoned the flame into her palm. The small flame danced in her hand as she lowered the other hand that held the lighter. She smiled nervously at her mother, who appeared shocked. Kurtis, however, wasn't. He rose and approached her, reaching his hand forward. Then, the flame flew from her hand to his. He increased the small flame into the size of a fireball, lifting it in a vertical stream of fire. Emily stepped back in awe, watching in amazement. Then, Kurtis closed his fist, and the fire vanished.

"H-How did you do that?" she breathed.

"We have a lot in common," he responded.

"Wait a minute…" she said slowly. "Does that mean that _I'm_ Lux Veritatis or something? Why do _I_ have special powers?" Lara looked up at Kurtis, knowing that it boiled down to one final revelation. Emily glanced back and forth between the two of them, waiting for someone to reply. She even looked up at Alister, who immediately turned away, exiting the room. "Well?" Emily demanded.

Kurtis sighed deeply, running his fingers through his hair. Then, he looked up at Emily. "If I'm Lux Veritatis, then _you're_ Lux Veritatis."

"What do you mean?" she asked slowly.

Lara drew in a deep breath, rising. "Emily," she said slowly. "Kurtis…" She paused. "Kurtis is your father."

Emily's gaze slowly turned from her mother to Kurtis, the color draining away. "Wait," she said slowly, pointing up at Kurtis. "He…" She turned her gaze to Lara. "And you…" She glanced between the two of them. "You guys…you're my…parents? Both of you?"

"Yes, both of us," Lara said.

"So that would make me…?" she said slowly, looking back to Kurtis.

"Lux Veritatis," he answered. "And…my daughter."

Emily stared into his eyes for a moment until her gaze drifted past him, and she fell to the floor, fainting. Kurtis sighed, rubbing his head. "Did she learn that from you?" he asked.

Lara sighed, approaching Emily's side. "She's been through a lot today, obviously," Lara replied, scooping her into her arms. "I'm taking her to the couch in the tech room. She'll be safe in there with Zip."

Lara exited the room, carrying Emily's unconscious body into the tech room to sleep. Kurtis ran his fingers through his hair again, glancing up as Alister returned. "So she's heard the news, then?" Alister asked.

"Yeah," Kurtis replied dryly. "She's thrilled. Can't you tell?"

"Take it easy, mate," Alister said calmly. "She's shocked. She's never known anything of her father before, and for you to come in so unexpectedly…well, it's quite the rush for her."

"Yeah, sure," Kurtis said.

"We need to focus on Karel at this moment," Alister said, getting to business. "If one of his lackeys was able to get in, then he'd no doubt be able to get in, and you and Emily are the first people he'd go after."

"We'll make sure Emily's the last," Kurtis said, leaning over the window sill. Then, he headed out of the room, towards the tech room, just in time to see Lara pulling a blanket over Emily's shoulders. "I need to make a call to France," he told Zip.

"Uh, sure," Zip said slowly. He punched in a few buttons on the keypad, then rolled back for Kurtis to dial out. The ring echoed through the room, and he glanced back at his sleeping daughter. "She'll sleep through anything," Lara said, waving off his caution.

Kurtis turned back towards the computer screen just in time to see Garin Limoux's face appear. "Limoux residence," he greeted him fondly. "Kurtis? Is that you?"

"We're in a bit of a predicament," Kurtis said, skipping the small talk. "I think Karel is still alive."

"W-What do you mean?" he asked fearfully.

"I mean that there was a man upstairs just now threatening my daughter's life on behalf of his master, i.e. Karel."

Garin drew in a deep breath. "How did this happen?"

"I don't know," Kurtis responded angrily. "You said that the Sword of Light would kill him without a doubt. Apparently, you were wrong."

"Kurtis, when you went back to find your father in Lemuria, what did you really find?"

Kurtis drew in a silent breath, anger overtaking him. "Karel," he said bitterly.

"Did you kill him? Did you use the sword?"

"I did," Kurtis said. "At least, I thought I'd killed him. I speared him right in the gut with the sword."

"And did you see him any time after that?" Garin asked.

"No," he said. "I didn't see him again for all six – _twelve_ – years. It was just me by myself trapped in hell." Then, he looked away, thinking something over. "I think he was just hiding, though. He kept taunting me with…images and flashbacks…" He couldn't bring himself to continue.

Garin looked away, contemplating over the possibilities. Then, he looked back at Kurtis, fear in his eyes. "You left the portal open."

* * *

**DUN DUN DUN...*video of the weird chipmunk thing turning around dramatically plays* Lol, first Lara, then Emily...I didn't know what to do.  
**

**SGRaider: **Yup, so Emily has powers! She's a pyro, haha. I couldn't help myself - I have this infatuation with pyrokinesis.

**Jade the Grey: **Lol. Actually, I do that too. Change my mind every five minutes. Like I said though, Emily is a lot less annoying than me, haha XD

**inmate1099: **Well...so much for that, eh? I promise you though that the outcome will be amazing, especially when we reach Part 2.

**OveractiveImaginer: **Yes, I did get that idea from X-Men, haha.

**Alright, alright. Chapter seven will be up for your viewing pleasure on Thursday!! Stay tuned, guys!! =D**


	7. The Lost Knight

**Rather short chapter here, but it happens. Ready to 'meet' villain #2??**

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**Kurtis had numbly disposed of the body in Emily's room, burying him in a ditch far from the Croft Manor. By midnight, he was exhausted. He slumped over the chair in the living room, leaning into his hands and drawing in a deep breath. He heard footsteps, and looked up to see Lara approaching him, deep in contemplation with her arms folded over her chest. She sighed, seating herself across from Kurtis in the opposite armchair. "I've confirmed the flight for all of us to leave tomorrow afternoon at noon," she said softly. "The sooner we get out of here, the better."

"Garin said there is plenty of room for the five of us in his home in Amiens," Kurtis told her.

Lara glanced back in the direction of the tech room, as if she could see Emily sleeping from there. She silently drew in a deep breath, staring in the direction of her daughter.

"She'll be fine, Lara," Kurtis said to her.

Lara glanced up at him, anger etching into her eyes. "Fine?" she asked. "Fine, when one of Karel's loyal followers has come to kidnap her? What about when Karel comes for her? Will she be _fine_ then?"

"Take it easy," he said.

"I can't take it easy," she said. "I'm not like you. I can't just pretend everything is going to be okay. I see things for what they are."

"No," he said, standing. "You see them for what you're afraid they are."

"So I shouldn't prepare myself for the worst?" she asked, rising to challenge him. "If that's the case, we might as well just stay here."

"That's not what I said," he argued. "You need to realize that Emily is in _our_ care. As long as she's with us, she'll be safe."

"Don't feed me your lines of sentimental rubbish," she demanded. "If it were that easy, we'd already have world peace."

"Don't act like you don't believe it, Lara," he argued. "You know that as long as the two of us are looking after her, she'll be okay."

"No, no one will be okay," she argued. "Not against Karel."

"That's why we're going to stop him."

"_This_ time," Lara said sarcastically. "What about _next_ time?"

Kurtis knew that to some extent, she was right. Karel seemed to be undefeatable, like there was no end to him. For once, he was stumped. Lara turned away, heading up the stairs, likely to pack some clothes for the next day's departure. He glanced in the direction of the tech room, then sighed, heading in its direction. Zip was still in there, awake, and keeping a close eye on the security feeds. Kurtis leaned against the desk, watching the cameras as he folded his arms over his chest. "You have cameras hooked up to every place in this mansion?" he asked.

"Top of the line," Zip responded.

"Yeah," Kurtis agreed dryly. "Against mortal enemies."

"What could Karel possibly want this time?" Zip demanded. "If the portal _was_ left open, then he's no doubt got enough space to run around and wreak havoc. What's he doing here, looking for you guys?"

"Searching for revenge," Kurtis speculated. "That's my guess, anyway. It makes the most sense."

"But there's got to be another reason," Zip argued. "If Karel wanted to kill you guys, he'd do it in an instant. There must be some other motive behind all of this…"

Kurtis hadn't thought of this, except in a passive manner. The man upstairs had said something about the "New Age" and becoming slaves. Was Karel up to no good as usual? What if he was picking up his old project of reviving the Nephilim? Then, Kurtis glanced over at Emily, asleep on the couch. What did they want with her? Obviously, the man could've easily killed her before Kurtis and Lara had even reached her room – a thought which sent chills up his spine – but why didn't he, thankfully enough? With that thought in mind, Kurtis knew they would have to look after Emily even more. "The fact is, we're obviously not safe here," Kurtis said, interrupting his own thoughts.

"Yeah, that's a given," Zip agreed.

Kurtis continued to let the thoughts bounce around in his mind as he seated himself behind the table. They had destroyed the Sleeper back in Prague. There couldn't possibly be more Nephilim – could there?

Then he remembered. It was the man in the sanitarium that Kurtis had spoken with. "Four days on the road from Turkey," he'd said. Kurtis had naively assumed he'd been referring to the Sleeper, which was the most logical assumption, but what if he hadn't been? What if there were more Nephilim housed somewhere in Cappadocia?

Kurtis immediately rose and headed up the stairs towards the library. The fire was still going once he entered, and he startled Alister, who was pondering over a book at his desk. Kurtis brushed past his comrade and headed towards one of the shelves, panning over the books listed under 'N'. He found an encyclopedia listed from Na to Ni. He quickly flipped through the pages until he found 'Nephilim'. _Angel hybrids…_blah blah blah, Kurtis already knew all the basic facts. There was nothing there that any average person couldn't find without doing a little research.

Kurtis sighed quietly, flipping through the pages. He flipped to the back of the book, but just as he prepared to close it shut and return it to the shelf, he caught the very faint engraving on the final page against the book's back with a Lux Veritatis glyph on it. His fingers faintly fell over the marking, then he reached towards the corners and began to pull the page away. He tore it back until he revealed a small, folded white paper. He unfolded the paper and began to look it over. At the top of the page, the number was listed 68, as though the page had been torn out and hidden somewhere. Kurtis flipped back through the book – page 68 was intact, though it was nothing but rambling about the Nephilim, things he already knew.

Kurtis skimmed over the page, reading the words in his mind. Then, it stuck out to him like a sore thumb. He immediately walked over to Alister, dropping the open book and torn page before him. "The Lost Knight," he pointed out. "Also known as the Black Angel."

Alister's eyebrows knit into confusion as he leaned forward to read what Kurtis was talking about. "What about it?" he asked.

"When I was in Prague," he began, "I ran into one of the psych patients in the sanitarium. He said something about a 'Black Angel'. I thought he was talking about the Sleeper or the Proto, but then I remembered my father telling me one time about the Lost Knight."

"What is this Lost Knight?" Alister asked.

"He was the first of the Lux Veritatis, even before my father, but he was also half Nephilim," he explained. "Legend holds that if he's revived, he'd be the most powerful psychic alive."

"Are you sure about that?" Alister asked nervously. "Are you sure he wouldn't just then...try to kill everyone?"

"He's half Lux knight," Kurtis repeated. "If we reach him first, he'll become our best friend, and Karel won't stand a chance. If Karel reaches him, though…"

"Right, I understand," Alister gulped. "So where is this Lost Knight?"

"My guess? Cappadocia, Turkey," he said.

"But that's your guess?"

"Based on what my father's told me, and what the guy in the sanitarium told me, yes."

Alister sighed. "Well, it's worth a shot, I suppose."

"Now I just have to figure out how to wake him," Kurtis sighed, closing the book, but marking the page with the loose page.

"But this is just an old wives' tale of the Lux Veritatis, right?" Alister asked.

"Half of the things we come across are nothing more than that," Kurtis pointed out.

"Right," Alister sighed. "Well, Lara should be thrilled to hear all this."

"She'll just panic even more," Kurtis muttered.

Alister looked up at him. "You're not going to tell her?"

"Not yet," Kurtis said. "And you'd better not either."

"Of course not," Alister said slowly. "I just don't understand…?"

"Just trust me," Kurtis said. "I've got her best interest at heart."

Kurtis scooped the book up and headed down the hallway, trying to decide what to do next. He certainly wasn't going to say anything to Lara. She would lose it, and put Emily on lockdown even more. Besides that, this was his job to handle. For once, he wanted to be the one running things. Lara would try to take over if she knew what was going on – like she always did.

Kurtis closed the hallway door, and startled when he came face-to-face with Lara. He expected her to start bitching – for whatever reason – but instead, she looked almost guilty. She drew in a silent breath. "I'm sorry for…going off on you," she said. "I understand what you're trying to say, I'm just…" She sighed.

"Scared," he finished. "I know."

"Right," she said. "So, that's…that's what's going on with that," she said slowly.

"It's alright," he assured her.

She cleared her throat, glancing down at the book in his hand. "What's that?" she asked.

_Shit,_ he thought. "Oh, nothing," he said passively. "Just doing some research on the Nephilim."

"Did you learn anything?" she asked quickly.

He shook his head. "Nothing new," he lied.

She eyed him suspiciously, as if she didn't believe him. He knew she could easily see right through him – if he let her. He could play the mind tricks, too. He offered a soft smile, then brushed past her, thankful she'd not prodded further. _It'll be good to get out of here,_ Kurtis sighed.

* * *

**Well, there you have it. The Black Angel. Remember that unidentified character from AOD? Well, I brought him back. Guys...if I had psychic powers too, I'd be a pyro all the way.**

**nemesis**: Lol, I don't think Kurtis was really aware of the fact that he left the portal open...poor guy. He can't catch a break.

**OveractiveImaginer**: YES! I am in love with John Allerdyce aka Pyro. He's sooo amazing XD

**trfanfrombeg: **Eh, I just didn't want to make the portal be in Madagascar, just cuz that would be too easy. So I changed locations to Maldives, haha.

**Alright everyone...I'll catch you on Saturday! Peace out.**


	8. Back In Amiens

**Sorry it took so long, guys. I was really busy this weekend =P**

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Zip tossed the suitcases into the gravel path outside the front of the manor. He glanced at his watch, looking up as Alister emerged from the front door, a saddlebag full of books and paper slung over his shoulder, pondering through a book in his hands. The chopper was already landed in the front grass field, just outside the path that led to the entrance of the manor. _The sooner we get out of here, the better,_ he thought.

Emily pushed the door open, dragging a wheeled-suitcase with one hand, and gripping the strap of her backpack with the other. She sighed as she approached her comrades. "I have a really bad feeling about this," she said slowly.

"Don't we all," Alister sighed, closing his book shut.

She glanced backwards, then looked back, her eyes swamped with anxiety. "Are there going to be more guys trying to…you know…hurt me? Or any of us, for that matter?"

Alister and Zip glanced at each other. Alister turned back to her, chuckling nervously. "Well, Emma, you see…"

"We don't need to worry about it for right now," Kurtis said, approaching the group.

Alister and Zip were thankful that Kurtis had finished the sentence. They weren't quite sure of what to say, anyway.

Emily slowly looked up at him. "Is that a yes?" she asked quietly.

Kurtis sighed, taking her bag from her hands. "Look, Emily," he began, "I'm not going to lie to you. There is a high chance that more people are going to come around to try to get the upper hand. You just need to do what we say, and stay close. Got it?"

Emily swallowed, trying to be brave. "Yeah, I understand," she said.

Kurtis adjusted the bags in his hands and then moved toward the chopper to stow them away. Emily sighed, pulling the backpack straps taught against her back. "When do you think we'll be back?" she asked.

"Not sure," Zip said, scooping up his bag into his hands. "It depends on how long everything takes."

"I don't get why we're leaving anyway," Emily said. "Besides the fact that the 'Carl' guy is trying to find us…"

"Your parents will explain everything to you," Alister assured her, picking up his bag.

"Yeah, sure," Emily sighed, pulling her long ponytail through her baseball cap. She glanced backwards as Lara came forward, dragging two suitcases with her. Emily appeared confused. "Why do you have so much?"

"Weapons," Lara responded.

"W-What?" she asked.

"Relax," Lara chuckled. "They're for protection."

"Is that Carl guy really that bad?" she asked timidly.

"These aren't for Karel," Lara said.

"Then who – or what – are they for?"

Lara sighed. "People like that man in your room last night," she said.

"There will be more of them?" she asked in a small voice.

"Emily," Lara said, setting the bags down and placing her hand on her shoulders. "I know this is all a bit sudden and very scary for you, but you're going to have to trust us, and do exactly as we say. Do you understand?"

Emily drew in a deep breath. "Yes," she said.

Lara brushed the hair out of Emily's face, then stood, picking up her bags and following after the rest of the group towards the chopper. Emily, however, remained still, as if she were weighted against the ground. She knew she really did need to trust her parents if she wanted to, well, _survive,_ but the mere thought of her life being threatened – or her parents' lives being threatened – was enough to scare the daylights out of her.

She needed to be ready for this, no matter how hard it was. _You're just going to have to brush past all this fear, _she told herself. _Might as well look at the bright side of this…_She was going to get to go for a ride in a helicopter, she was going to France, and she was with _both_ of her parents, strangely enough. She was still in the state of shock over realizing that Kurtis was her father, but of course, she reveled in it. She finally had a father…but how long would he stay around?

Emily shook her head clear of these thoughts, drawing in a deep breath. With one final glance back at her home, she turned away, heading towards the chopper. Alister and Zip were climbing in once she reached it, and she glanced over to see that the pilot was a man whom she didn't recognize. Lara was strapping a holster onto her left thigh, and removed a gun from one of the suitcases. She loaded a clip into it, switched the safety on, and slipped it into the holster. Then, she climbed into the cockpit of the helicopter, seating herself opposite of Alister. Emily drew in another deep breath, looking up at Kurtis, who was still standing outside, holding one hand on the upper railing of the chopper. "You going in sometime today?" he said, though Emily sensed he was trying to be light-hearted and not pushy.

She pushed away her look of fear, drawing in a look of duty and fearlessness. Then, she leaned forward, climbing into the helicopter. Kurtis pulled himself up behind her, and the chopper's blades fired up. Emily seated herself on the far side next to the window, staring outside at the rustling grass. She heard someone beside her, and looked up to find Kurtis seating himself, loading a clip into his gun. Strangely enough, she felt safer next to Kurtis, even as he loaded his gun, as if preparing for an enemy encounter.

Emily felt the chopper lifting from the ground, and she leaned back into the seat, slumping forward as she pulled the bill of her hat over her eyes. Wherever they were going, she hoped they'd get their fast, and without any interruption.

"Glad to see you guys got here safely," Garin said with his ever-so-polite smile on his face. Alister and Zip carried their bags as Lara and Kurtis approached their old friend.

"So are we," Lara agreed. "You never know what Karel could be up to."

"Unfortunately, you're right," Garin said. He turned to Zip and Alister. "Feel free to take whichever bedroom you'd like. They're all open."

Zip and Alister brushed past Garin, carrying their heavy bags inside to occupy the room of their choosing. Garin turned back to Lara and Kurtis, drawing in a silent breath. "

"So it's just you two, then?"

"No," Lara said. "Emma's in the helicopter. Somehow she'd managed to fall asleep on the way here."

"From what I hear, she had quite the night last night," he said. "I don't blame her."

"I'll go get her," Kurtis offered. He turned away, heading towards the helicopter. He leaned inside the cockpit. Emily was lying across the bench, fast asleep, her baseball cap barely resting atop her head. Kurtis knocked on the outside of the steel door, waking her with a startle. She slowly looked up at him, stretching. "We're here," he said.

"Already?" she yawned.

"Already," he confirmed. "Help me take in some of the bags," he told her. She stood and scooped up some of the lighter luggage, while Kurtis pulled out one of the heavier suitcases tucked away in the back. Emily shielded her eyes from the sun as she approached Lara and Garin just outside the house. Garin smiled down at Emily. "Hello, Emily," he said politely. "I don't suppose you'd remember me…?"

Emily shrugged. "Nope. Sorry."

"I shouldn't expect so. You were just a baby the last time I saw you."

Emily glanced up at Lara, then back to the man. "Nice to meet you…" she said, extending her hand.

He shook her hand, then turned back to Lara and Kurtis. "Likewise with the three of you, choose any room you'd like. We have plenty of space for everyone."

"Appreciate it, Garin," Lara said, grinning. She took the bag from Emily's hands and turned past him, heading inside. Kurtis and Emily followed inside, and Garin closed the door behind them, locking it shut.

* * *

  
Emily snacked on the bowl of grapes, seated at the kitchen barstool, watching television. The news forecasted cool temperatures, and a chance of rain. Then, a cheesy commercial came on to promote the sale of some new cellular phone. The rest of the adults were upstairs, unpacking their things. Emily found it slightly weird that her mother and father weren't sharing a room – they were her _parents._ Sure, they weren't married or anything, but what was the big deal? They could still act like they were a normal couple.

Emily peered down the hall at the massive library in the other room. It was just about the same size as the one in the Croft Manor, but a little smaller. She glanced up the stairs to make sure no one was coming, then tiptoed down the hallway to see what she could find.

She entered the library to find nothing out of the ordinary – books, a computer, a desk, notebooks. Then, she saw the book that Kurtis had been carrying. She slowly approached it, glanced backwards, then picked it up, opening the book to the marked page. _…but the Black Angel was believed to have been taken to Cappadocia, Turkey, and was never seen again after the Cabal murdered the fifth generation of the Lux Veritatis. _What was the Black Angel? She glanced back down at the page, reading a few sentences before the one she'd just finished. _The body of Siamak Lachesis was taken to New Zealand for reverence, but was believed to have been dug up and moved…_

"Enjoying what you're reading?" a voice called. Emily startled, closing the book and turning to face Garin. She stood up, pushing the book away on the table.

"Sorry," she said quickly. "I just…I saw your library and I thought…"

He chuckled. "It's alright," he said. "I'm sorry I don't have much in the way of entertainment for kids."

"It's okay," she said quickly.

Garin slowly walked past her, scooping up the book she'd been reading. _Crap,_ Emily thought. He opened the page to the marker, reading over it. "Do you know anything about the Cabal and the Lux Veritatis?" he asked calmly.

"Nothing more than what my parents told me," she said.

"Well, you'll find out soon enough," he said, closing the book and dropping it on the table. Emily had expected to be scolded at or something of the sort, but Garin merely turned, leaving the room. She glanced back down at the book, wanting to read more, but feared getting caught again, possibly by her mother or father.

She heard footsteps coming down the stairs, and she quickly made her way back towards the kitchen, trying to appear as though she'd never left. Zip and Alister rounded the corner, seating themselves at the bar. Then, Kurtis and Lara entered. Garin seated himself opposite of Emily, turning towards Kurtis. "So let's get down to business," he began. "What did you find out?"

Kurtis drew in a deep breath, leaning over the counter. "My hunch is that Karel is looking for the Lost Knight."

"The Black Angel," Garin said.

"Yeah," Kurtis agreed.

"The Sleeper?" Lara asked slowly.

"Something…different," Kurtis said. "My father used to tell me stories about the Lost Knight. Last night, though, it clicked – the Black Angel and the Lost Knight are one and the same."

"And what is this Lost Knight?" Lara asked.

"His name was Siamak Lachesis," Garin explained. "He was Lux Veritatis, who existed even before our forefathers. Ironically enough, he was half Nephilim, and half Lux knight."

"And where is he now?" Lara asked.

"Dead," Kurtis said. "I'm afraid Karel wants to find him and bring him back."

"Why?" Lara asked slowly.

"To use him," Kurtis said simply. "If he can get the knight to respond, he'll have control over it. It'll be his little puppet."

"But what if we beat him to it?" Lara asked.

"Then we'll have the upper hand," Garin finished. "There are some strings attached though…"

Kurtis looked to him strangely. "Such as?"

"The knight is powerless without his armor and sword," he said. "We'll need to locate those first."

"And where are those?" Lara asked.

"I was hoping someone else would have the answer," Garin admitted. "I'm not sure."

"Wait," Lara said slowly, looking over to Kurtis. "You found all this out _last_ night?"

"Yeah," he said simply.

"And why didn't you tell me?"

Kurtis sighed. "Lara, you didn't need to hear about it right away…"

"When _were_ you planning to tell me?" she demanded, growing angry.

"See, this is why I _didn't_ say anything," he said, drawing back. "Regardless, you were going to get upset about it either way."

"No, I'm upset because for some reason, you withheld the information from me," she said, rising. "You're putting several lives at risk because of your ignorance."

"_Ignorance?_" he demanded, growing as angry as she was. "So you could react just like you are right now? These things don't revolve around you, Lara. Other people can hold the ball at some point."

"It's not about whose court the ball is in," Lara said. "It's the principle of the thing."

"Just relax for five minutes, will you?" he said, and she drew back, surprised by his attitude. He turned back to the rest of the group, who sat awkwardly, waiting for the tiff to end. He sighed. "Even if Karel reaches the knight before we do, it won't matter if he doesn't have the armor. We can still get the upper hand by finding it, but we need to get a location on that before anything."

"Can we rewind a bit?" Alister requested. "Why does Karel want to find the Black Angel anyway?"

"I'd bet my life on it that he's still trying to rebreed the Nephilim," Kurtis said, "and he wants to use the Black Angel to do that. With an undead warrior on his side, what's he got to lose?"

Garin sighed. "Sounds about right," he said. "Alister, we'll need you to try to pin a location on the armor and the sword. Zip, can you set up your security feeds here at the mansion?"

"I can do anything you need," Zip boasted, "but I don't know if…" He glanced in Emily's direction.

"Regardless," Garin interrupted, reading his mind about his suspicion that any security system would be pointless against Karel, "you still need to do it. We can't risk anything."

"One more question," Kurtis spoke up slowly. "What does he want with Emily?"

Garin sighed, folding his arms over his chest. "I wish I knew," he admitted. He looked up at her. "Regardless, we'll keep a close eye on her. I hate to admit it, but whatever Karel wants, it involves more than just getting rid of her."

Emily looked nervous. "He's trying to…use me?"

"I don't know," Garin said. "But we'll keep you safe. Don't worry."

"Don't worry?" she asked in a small voice. "But…but…"

"As long as we all stay on the same page," Lara said, glaring at Kurtis.

Inside, Kurtis was growing angry. Why did she have to blow everything out of proportion? So he didn't give her the information immediately after finding it – so what? She was irrationally paranoid. He needed to get away from her before he blew a fuse. Kurtis rose from the bar, sighing in frustration. "I'm going upstairs for a shower," he muttered.

As soon as Kurtis left, the room was quiet. Emily felt her heart sink – for the first time ever, her parents were together, and they were fighting. Right in front of her. Couldn't they at least _try_ to get along, at least for her? Her mother wasn't exactly the easiest person to deal with, but then again, she didn't know much about her father, and their relationship could possibly be deeper and more tangled than what Emily was seeing right now.

Alister cleared his throat. "Alright, then," he said, trying to sound cheerful. "I suppose I'll head into the library and see what I can't find about the Black Angel and his armor and such."

"Yeah," Zip said slowly, "and I'll go get the security system set up."

Zip and Alister quickly scattered, leaving Emily, Lara, and Garin in the room together, the silence being softly broken by the voice coming from the television. Emily slowly looked up at Lara. "Are we really safe here?" she asked nervously.

"Of course we are," Lara said simply, rising from her seat.

Emily looked to her with disbelief. "Mom, if they got in at home, what makes you think they won't get in here?"

"I didn't say I thought that," Lara said. "But I can try to be optimistic, can't I?"

"I'm not an idiot," Emily argued. "I know that there's a chance I'm going to die."

"Emily, listen to me," Lara said, folding her arms over her chest. "Kurtis and I have been doing this for years and years. Don't you trust us to take care of you?"

"Well…yeah, but –"

"Then there should be no room for doubt," she said. "Now why don't you go unpack, and I'll see you for dinner?" Emily quickly turned away, heading up the stairs. Lara sighed in her mind. Emily was too smart for her own good.

And then there was Kurtis. Why was he withholding information from her? Did he think she'd overreact? Was it this maternal image that made him feel like he should be the one to carry the torch? _Just because I'm a mother doesn't mean I have to be the damsel,_ she thought, annoyed as she headed up the stairs. _I'm just as capable as he is, and it's always been that way. _

Lara heard rummaging beyond the door of Kurtis's room. She pushed it open just in time to see him pulling a t-shirt over his head. He looked up at her, sighing. "There is such a thing as knocking, you know."

"Just like there's such a thing as being completely honest," she said, folding her arms over chest.

"You're still on that?" he asked. "And I thought motherhood would've made you a bit more soft-hearted."

"And here is where you've committed the fundamental attribution error," she said dryly. "Just because I'm a mother doesn't mean that I'm not _still_ as capable as you. That_ is_ why you didn't tell me, isn't it?"

"Let's not do this," he sighed, closing the drawer. "I've been in hell for twelve years, and the first thing you want to do when we're back together is bitch at me."

"Then don't give me a reason to," she said flatly.

"Jesus, Lara, I can't keep up with you!" he said, close to shouting. "You go back and forth faster than a pendulum! One minute you're dying to be with me, the next you're bitching at me for one simple mistake. I'm sorry I can't be as fucking perfect as you are."

"Don't pretend that that's what this whole thing is about," she argued. "I'm sorry for what you went through, but I haven't changed, and you shouldn't expect any different. Don't try to push everything off on your disillusioned excuses."

"Would you just stop playing the holier-than-thou card?" he said angrily. "Neither of us are perfect, alright? At least _I_ can admit it."

"That's a bit of an oxymoron," she scoffed. "Why don't you just grow up? Stop acting like all of this has to do solely with me. You know you haven't been the same since you came back from Lemuria."

Kurtis gripped Lara by her shoulders and pushed her into the wall, rattling the objects on the nearby dresser. For a split instant in time, she became afraid of him. She'd _never_ seen him act on such rage, such anger. Something in his eyes read as a strong desire to lash out, acting as nothing more than a façade for the underlying fear.

Normally, when put in a physically-compromising situation, Lara would react. That was when she was dealing with enemies, however. This was different. This was Kurtis. He'd never reacted so strongly – something was deeply troubling him. Lara, however, wasn't ready to push aside her anger and offer solace. She glared evilly at him, matching the anger in his eyes, and pushed his arms off of her shoulders. She turned away, opening the door to exit, leaving Kurtis to stand in the room with nothing but regret.

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**Well, there you have it. Kurtis is trapped inside his own mind. Nothing really to comment on review-wise. I should have the next chapter posted by Thursday, so I'll see you then!  
**


	9. Midnight Turmoil

**Sorry for the delay, guys! I've been busy for a change!!! =P**

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**Emily awakened later that evening, shivering. She hadn't expected France to be so cold. Sure, it was cold in London, but somewhere inside, she'd hoped it would be warmer. She pulled the blankets tight over her shoulders, turning her head over to stare at the ornate designs on the curtains, illuminated by the moonlight. It was just after two a.m., and the house was quiet.

She sighed, thinking over the current predicament with her parents. Why did they have to fight? Why now? This was the first time they'd seen each other in twelve years, and the first time Emily had ever even met her father. Why couldn't they just act like civilized beings?

Emily wasn't sure why Kurtis had never come around for twelve years, but she figured it had something to do with that Karel guy. Kurtis didn't seem like the type of man who would have a child and leave her behind because of his own insecurities. Then again, she didn't know anything about him. Lara had never spoken of him, except to tell her that he was American, tall and dark, with beautiful blue eyes. For twelve years, that was all she'd known.

Emily groaned, exhausted and freezing. She pulled the covers over, rising from the bed to retrieve her sweatshirt with the words "University of Oxford" painted across it. She pulled the hood over her head, her messy brown hair spilling out from under it. She approached the window, pulling the shades back to peer into the night sky. From where her window was, she could see the river Somme in the distance, where the water glistened under the moonlight. There were some small boats bobbing about in the water, tied to stakes along the brick wall. Amiens really was a nice little city. _Maybe we can go to Paris, _she thought hopefully, although she knew they weren't here for a vacation – they were here on business.

Emily smiled softly at the sight. It was quaint and relaxing – at least until she saw a faint green glow down below. Her smile faded, and she narrowed her eyes at the silhouette of a man standing in the garden below. She blinked several times – was she seeing things? Then, it hit her. That man that had been in her room the other night had some weird type of glowing green energy in his hands. Could this be one of those Cabal guys too?

Emily quickly pulled the shades shut and grabbed her lighter from the dresser. She leaned against the closed door to see if she could hear anyone, just to make sure nobody would be in the hallway waiting to grab her. Then, she opened the door and quickly headed down the hall to the first room she could reach. She opened the door and headed towards the bed, shaking the person awake. "Emily, what are you doing?" Lara asked in a hoarse voice.

"There's someone outside," she said quickly. "He has green glowing hands, like the guy from last night!"

Lara quickly rose from her bed and carefully pulled back the shades, peering outside. She sighed in frustration, then headed towards her dresser, opening a drawer to remove her Glock 22 and a clip. She quickly inserted the magazine, then turned towards the door, opening it with stealth, and letting the weapon lead the way. She'd never seen her mother so…assertive and serious.

There was movement down the hall, and Emily hugged the wall of the bedroom to stay hidden. She relaxed a bit when Lara said Kurtis's name. Emily peered around the corner to see him holding his own weapon. "They're coming from the front and the back," Kurtis said quickly. "A few Cabal members, and a lot of merks."

"Merk?" Emily asked.

"Guys with guns," Kurtis said quickly.

Emily glanced down at the lighter in her hand, knowing it wouldn't be enough against these gun-wielding bastards. She drew in a deep breath, trying to remain brave as she looked up at her parents. A door opened down the hall, and Zip quickly came out, rushing down the stairs. "I'm on it," he said quickly, heading towards his temporary tech room to hook up the second-level security.

Suddenly, there was a loud bang downstairs, and the entire house began to shake. The enemies were already entering the house. Beams of light from the flashlights began to dance around downstairs, and Lara and Kurtis simultaneously hugged the wall. Lara gripped Emily by the shoulder, pulling her back with them. Kurtis pointed down the opposite hallway, and Lara immediately headed in its direction, pulling Emily along quickly. Then, they heard gunfire. Emily covered her head, ducking away, while Kurtis wheeled around on his heel, opening fire in the opposite direction. How had the merks gotten to the second story so quickly?

Lara opened the door at the end of the hallway that led down to the south end of the first floor. She ushered Emily down as quickly as she could move, keeping the gun aimed just over her, should an enemy come before them. "What about Dad?" Emily asked quickly, facing Lara.

Lara lowered the gun, more stunned by Emily calling Kurtis "Dad" than by anything else at the moment. Then, gunfire flew past them, narrowly missing Lara. She shoved Emily into the corner, ducking under a table. She quickly sat up, opening fire on one of the merks from the other side. Then, she ducked back down, facing Emily. "I'm going to lead you to the back door," she said quickly, "then, I want you to run to the café down the street and _stay there_ until either I or Kurtis come for you. Do you understand?"

Emily wanted to protest. _Don't leave me!_ But she knew she needed to follow orders, and do so quickly. She swallowed her fear and nodded quickly. Lara pulled her by her wrist, quickly sending her across the next hallway. Lara covered her path, opening fire on the approaching enemies. Up ahead, she saw the back door. They were close. As soon as she stepped forward, though, she was knocked flat on her back by a surge of green energy. She looked up in time to see Emily quickly ducking out of the way, and Lara aimed at the approaching Cabal member, firing at him. Then, she rose to her feet, pointing at the back door. "Go!" she shouted to Emily. Emily nodded, then rushed towards the door, forcing it open.

She wanted to stop and look back, but she knew that in the movies when that happened, everything went terribly wrong. She ran as fast as she could in the direction of the café. Wait…what café? Lara had said 'the café down the street', but how would Emily know where that was? She very well couldn't speak or read French, so where was she supposed to go?

She knew that overall, she couldn't remain in the open. She leaned against one of the brick walls to catch her breath, glancing about to make sure no one was around. _What should I do, what should I do…?_ she thought quickly. Then, she felt a hand grip her shoulder from behind and pull her backwards violently. She tried to scream, but another hand covered her mouth, and the person began to drag her away. She flung her arms around and tried to kick, but to her avail, nothing happened. She did the last thing she could think to do, and fell dead weight under his hands, crumpling to the ground. The tactic actually proved to be effective, because she heard him curse in some foreign language, and felt her arm slip from his grip.

She rose as fast as she could an attempted to run, but felt him grab her by her arm, jerking her back around to face him. In her peripheral, she saw him removing a gun – this must've been one of those Cabal members. She would've reached for her lighter, but she wasn't exactly in a position to so. She reached her arm out, covering his face with her palm, her hands reaching out in every direction. Then, the man unexpectedly let her go, screaming and writhing in pain. He stumbled backwards, covering his face, continuing to shout in pain. Emily was too shocked to run, and she remained where she stood, watching the man's strange reaction. Then, he pulled his hand away from his face, revealing a bright red, calloused texture across the left side of his face, like he had been burned badly.

The man looked up at her angrily, then reached out, the gun in his hand. Emily heard a gunshot, and she startled, expecting to feel blood seeping from her being. She quickly glanced in the opposite direction to see Lara standing in place, her gun aimed at the body of the man. She slowly approached Emily, keeping her weapon trained on the enemy. Then, her face knit into confusion as she bent down next to the man, examining his face. She looked up to Emily, her face ashen with fear. "What happened to him?" Lara asked quickly.

Emily felt tears coming to her eyes. "I-I don't know," she said, her voice cracking. "He grabbed me, and I tried to get away, and…and…" She choked on a deep breath, and felt a small panic attack coming along.

Lara stood up and faced her, grabbing her hand and examining her palm. "Where's your lighter?" she asked. With shaking hands, Emily removed it from her pocket, holding it up for her to see. "You didn't use it?" she asked.

She shook her head negatively. "I couldn't reach it," she admitted.

Lara glanced back down at the man's face, then back at Emily. She held her gun up, then turned towards the house. "Come on," she said.

"A-Are they all dead?" she asked quickly.

"Everything is fine," she assured her. "Let's move out."

Emily stood close to Lara's side, moving as quickly as she could to keep up with her as they returned to the house. Despite what Lara had said, she kept her gun up in case an enemy should emerge unexpectedly. Then, she approached Kurtis and Garin. Kurtis held his Boran X low to his side, while Garin stood with an assault rifle leaned over his shoulder. Emily's eyes grew wide as she saw the bleeding wound in her father's shoulder. "What happened?" she asked quickly.

Kurtis glanced down at the wound, then back at Emily. "Nothing to worry about," he assured her.

"The Cabal and the mercenaries are taken care of," Garin spoke up, "but we're obviously not going to be safe if we stay here."

"So where do you suggest we go now?" Lara asked.

"I have another home in Le Havre, just an hour and a half west of here," he said.

"We'll leave tomorrow morning," Kurtis spoke up. "If we leave tonight, there's a good chance they'll follow us."

"But won't they find us here if we stay?" Emily asked nervously.

"Karel's not going to dispatch two legions in one night," Kurtis reasoned. "Not when we've already finished off one with ease."

"Then we'll leave first thing tomorrow," Garin finished. "I'm not worried about the mess here. This house is just a façade anyway."

"As long as the security system is up," Lara spoke up, "we should be fine. Where are Zip and Alister?"

"Library," Garin pointed out.

Lara turned away, heading towards the library, stepping over broken glass and destroyed pottery. Zip was pounding away at the keyboard furiously, while Alister remained hidden behind one of the bookshelves. Lara sighed. "Alister, they're all gone," she called. "You can come out."

Alister peeked his head out, then stepped into plain view, dusting his clothes off as he cleared his throat. "Very well," he said calmly. "H-How is everything going, then?"

"We're relocating to Le Havre tomorrow," she said. "Zip, I want you to make sure the security system is operating at full capacity."

"There's a problem with that…" Zip said irritably. "Somehow, those damn Cabal guys managed to bypass the security without even coming in contact with it."

"Telepathic nerve waves?" Alister speculated.

"Could be," Lara muttered with annoyance. "Is there any way to fix it?"

"Yeah," Zip scoffed. "If I take apart the hard drive and reroute the output capacitor. Basically, I'd have to rebuild the entire goddamn machine."

"And I'm assuming that'd take more than several minutes…?" Lara asked.

"Try several hours," Zip muttered.

Lara sighed slowly. "Any backup plans?"

"A cheap excuse for a motion sensor…" Zip said slowly. "It'd take five minutes to wire up. It's just not very effective…"

"It's better than nothing," Lara admitted bitterly. "It's unlikely that they'll return before we leave for Le Havre, but we shan't take any chances."

"I'll get on it then…" Zip sighed, heading upstairs to retrieve his gadgets.

Lara turned away, glancing at Alister, who was still quite shaken, then exited the library, returning to the group. Kurtis, however, was not in the picture. Lara pretended to pay it no mind, turning her attention to Garin. "It will take a while for Zip to reconfigure the security system," she said, "but you can go to bed if you'd like. I'll keep a watch out."

"It'll be fine," Garin assured her. "You need your rest more than I do."

Lara eyed him for a moment, making sure he was certain, then nodded in gratitude. She turned towards Emily, who was not only fighting off shock, but fatigue as well. "Let's get you to bed," Lara said quietly. She ushered the child up the stairs and towards her room. "Will you be alright by yourself?" Lara asked.

Emily nodded slowly, pulling back the blankets of her bed. "I'll be fine," she said quietly.

"If not, you _can_ sleep in the next room with me…"

"Really, it's okay," she assured her. "I…I have my lighter. I should be fine."

Lara sighed. "Alright, then. If you need anything though, don't hesitate to come get me, or even Kurtis."

"I'll be fine, Mom, really," she said flatly.

Emily faced away from Lara, pulling the blankets over her shoulders. Lara stared down at the shape of her daughter, trying to decide if she was just trying to be tough, or if she was really okay. It was likely the former, though. Lara turned away quietly, pulling the door halfway shut. She switched the safety on onto her firearm, then headed down the hall towards her room. She stopped, though, at the sound of rustling in Kurtis's room. Then, she remembered he'd been injured. She sighed quietly, setting the gun on the table, and knocked softly. He ushered her in, and she slowly entered, pushing the door shut behind her. Kurtis was shirtless – his trademark appearance – but this time, she could see a bloody, white bandage wrap on his shoulder, and a large scar on his abdomen. She swallowed back her slight bit of fear on his behalf, then looked up to his eyes. "Are you alright?" she asked softly.

Kurtis ran his fingers through his hair, seating himself on the edge of the bed. "I've had worse. Obviously…"

Lara suppressed a small giggle. "You didn't wrap it correctly," she said. "You need a bandage patch, not a wrap."

"Sorry," he said. "I didn't go through army medical training."

She couldn't recognize if he was being sarcastic or making a dry joke. Lara disregarded it, turning into the bathroom to retrieve the medical kit. Then, she returned, removing some of the kit's contents, pulling up the nearby chair to seat herself before Kurtis. He sighed. "I'll be fine, Lara," he said dully.

"Just let me take care of it," she persisted.

He sighed again, but said nothing. Lara slowly unwrapped the loose bandage, setting it on the floor as she examined the damage. It was actually a lot deeper than she'd seen before, and he'd obviously not given it any type of antibiotic to move along the healing process. It was silent as Lara removed a large cotton pad and rubbing alcohol, dousing it in the ointment. Then, she slowly raised it to his wound. He winced, turning away from Lara so she wouldn't see his pain. She dabbed at the bloody patch thoroughly. "This obviously wasn't a bullet wound," she said.

He turned his gaze back to her. "One of those green fireballs," he said.

"Ah," she said. "Be thankful it wasn't Karel, though."

"Which is strange," Kurtis said. "Does that mean that these 'followers' are really just followers or are they something more…? Like Nephilim?"

Lara sighed quietly, keeping her focus on tending to his wound. "Karel _does_ like to play the wild cards," she said. "Apparently, though, these followers aren't as threatening as he is."

Lara set the bloody cotton pad down atop the old bandage wrap, then reached into the kit for a yellowish rubbing ointment. She squirted some of it onto the cotton patch, rubbed it in, then held it up, pressing it atop Kurtis' wound on his shoulder. He cringed, startling a bit at the pain. Lara taped the patch against his shoulder, then pressed gently so the ointment would reach the wound. "There," she said softly.

Lara moved to pull away, but Kurtis reached up, taking her softly by the wrist. She searched his eyes, both craving and fearing his touch. After how he'd reacted earlier, she wasn't sure what to think. Kurtis sighed – a deep sigh of confusion, guilt, and atonement. He kissed her fingertips, but then let her hand go, leaning forward into his own hands. Lara was just as puzzled as she was sorry for him. She remained where she was in a respectful silence, waiting for him to speak what was on his mind. Finally, he looked up at her. "I never should've…" He paused, drawing in a deep breath. "I never should've…reacted the way I did."

Lara gazed into his eyes. "No, you shouldn't have," she said. "And neither should I have."

"You don't know what it was like there," he said, "in Lemuria."

"I can only imagine," she said.

He slowly looked up into her eyes. "I'm sorry," he said softly.

Lara drew in a deep breath, staring into his eyes, offering a weak smile of solace. Then, she leaned forward, kissing Kurtis slowly on the lips. She pulled away, looking into his eyes, then stood to her feet. "We should get to sleep," she said softly. She turned away, but felt his light grip on her wrist. She turned to look at him as he stared up at her, need and desire filling his eyes. "Stay with me," he said.

"But…Emily –"

"What about her?" he asked. "We're her parents. There's no harm."

Then, Lara realized he was right. Lara's primary concern was protecting her daughter, but what harm could come from her seeing that her parents were actually getting along? Lara leaned forward, crawling across the bed as Kurtis laid back against the pillows. Lara tucked her legs under the blankets, then leaned her body into the warmth of Kurtis's body. He wrapped his arms around her, pulling her closer to him. Lara let her fingers slowly run across his skin, stopping at the scar along his abdomen. She looked up at him, but he didn't move – he didn't meet her eyes. "You never told me what happened," she said softly.

His chest heaved as he drew in a deep breath. "Karel," he said. "He pulled a fast one on me."

Lara didn't want to prod any further. She dropped a soft kiss on his clean shoulder, then leaned her head into the space between his shoulder and his neck, letting the mesmerizing warmth of his touch move her to sleep.

* * *

  
**Well, there ya have it! Some more action. I'll catch you kids next Friday. I'm going to space things out from now on so I stop missing my own deadlines! =P**


	10. Departing

**Well, everyone...back again!! Here is a short chapter, so read on...**

**

* * *

  
**"You're all looking quite lovely this morning," Alister said, sipping a cup of warm coffee. Lara and Kurtis entered the kitchen around 8:30 a.m. to find Alister as the only one moving about.

"Where are Zip and Garin?" Lara asked.

"Zip is off doing the usual," he said, "and Garin is likely to be down in a bit."

Lara poured herself a cup of coffee. "Do you know if Zip managed to fix the security hard drive?"

"Doubtful," Alister said. "You heard the man – several hours. He set up a cheap motion sensor and was done with it. I'm sure he'll have time to fix it on the flight to Le Havre."

"I'm sure," Lara echoed. It was also time for Lara to wake Emily, who was likely still asleep. She sighed, setting the coffee cup atop the counter and brushing past Kurtis, up the stairs to Emily's room. She knocked softly, then pushed the door open. Emily was completely hidden by the blankets and pillows, not a bit of her to be seen. Lara sighed, approaching the bed and patting at the blankets. "It's time to get up," she called softly.

Emily groaned. "Five more minutes."

"No," Lara said. "Right now. Let's go."

Emily threw the blankets off her head and groaned, making no attempt to hide her irritation. "I'm tired, Mom," she muttered.

"So are the rest of us," Lara retorted. "But we need to get out of here quickly. Once we get to Le Havre, you can rest all you want."

Lara turned away to leave her daughter to pack her things up. Then, she returned back down the stairs, returning to her cup of coffee. Alister seated himself at the table, drawing in a breath. "You'll be delighted to hear what I learned," he said.

"Is that so?" Lara asked, leaning against the countertop. "Do tell."

"I found the location of the Black Angel's armor," he boasted, taking a dainty sip from his mug.

"…and?" Lara asked, waiting for an answer.

"And," he said slowly, "it's in Grimsey Island."

"Iceland?" Lara asked.

"Off the northern coast, yes," Alister confirmed.

"Grimsey Island has a population of one hundred people," she said flatly. "That _can't_ be right."

"Quality not quantity," Alister assured her.

"Where is this research coming from?" Kurtis asked.

"Why are you doubting me now?" he asked, taken aback. "Have I ever been wrong before?"

Lara sighed. "Perhaps not," she said. "It's just…"

Alister eyed her suspiciously. "Wait…" he said slowly. "This isn't about the location. It's…it's about Emma…?"

"Keep your voice down," Lara muttered.

"You're going to leave her here? With us?"

"Is that a problem?" Lara asked.

"No, no. Of course not," he said. "It's just…well, Iceland _is_ quite far."

"Exactly my thoughts," Lara said with a sigh.

"Why not take her with you?" he asked.

"It's easier, _and_ safer to leave her here," she said. "Garin will look after her just fine. We shan't be gone too long."

"You're leaving me behind?" Emily asked.

Lara, Kurtis, and Alister turned to face Emily, who stood at the base of the stairs with her suitcase and her backpack. She had a look of disappointment mixed with irritability in her eyes, searching from Lara to Kurtis for an explanation. Lara drew in a deep breath. "It's safer for you to stay here."

"I don't _want_ to stay here," she protested. "I want to go with you!"

"It's not up for discussion," Lara said. "You'll remain in Le Havre with, Zip, Alister, and Garin. We shouldn't be back any later than tomorrow."

"It's not fair, Mom," she argued. "Why can't I just come?"

"And risk you getting hurt? I think not."

"What if those merks come back?"

"You'll be with Garin," Lara said. "He will protect you. Not only that, it's more likely that they'll be after us than you."

"You don't know that…"

"I believe it," Lara said.

Emily sighed loudly. "You piss me off sometimes," she muttered, brushing past them.

"Watch your mouth," Lara retorted. "Take your things to the chopper outside. And I don't want to hear anymore foul language from you."

Emily muttered something under her breath, heading out the door to reach the helicopter on the front yard. Lara sighed, turning back to Kurtis and Alister. "Go on," she said to Alister.

"Anyway," he continued, "off the northern coast of the island, there's a cave you must reach to locate the armor in an underground crypt."

"It shouldn't be a problem," Lara said. "So long as the Cabal doesn't try to find it at the same time…"

"The Cabal is likely busy with other things," Kurtis put in, "like trying to find the Black Angel."

"True," Alister agreed. "But without his sword and armor, he's nothing more than another psychic."

"But Karel will still be just as dangerous," Lara said, a tinge of anxiety in her voice.

"Not once we wake the Knight," Kurtis said.

They heard footsteps coming from above, and saw Garin descending the stairs with bags in his hands. He stopped before the group, drawing in a deep breath. "Are we all set?" he asked.

"Absolutely," Lara said, picking up her bag.

"And don't worry. Zip, Alister, and I will be there to look after her," Garin said. "There's safety in numbers."

Lara met his gaze. "Not always," she said.

* * *

  
Lara strapped on her holsters and tucked her pistols into them. Kurtis tucked his Boran X into his shoulder holster and clipped his Chirugai on his belt. Emily watched on, never having seen either of her parents so…serious. They had the look in their eyes that read of duty and nothing more. _They look like really tough cops, _she thought admirably.

They had arrived in Le Havre fifteen minutes before, and the helicopter was waiting just outside the mansion (still similar to the home in Amiens) for Lara and Kurtis so they could depart to the distant place of Iceland. Not only was Emily scared for her own safety – she was scared for her parents' safety as well. They'd assured her time and time again that they'd been doing this for years, and knew exactly how to go about it. It didn't convince Emily. She was still afraid that this Karel guy would show up, kill them, and leave her orphaned. _That'd be terrible, especially after I just barely met my dad,_ she thought. She would be safe with Garin – he was one of those Lux Veritatis warriors too. He would be able to handle the pesky merks…

And of course, Emily had her lighter. She could always use that. Well, she could try. She wasn't quite as capable with it as Kurtis had so easily demonstrated that he was. She knew if she practiced, she'd get better.

Lara put her earpiece in her ear and pulled her camera-equipped glasses over her eyes, drawing in a deep breath as she faced Kurtis. "Well, let's get going."

"Are you sure everything is going to be okay?" Emily asked nervously. "What if you…you know…get hurt?"

"Then we put a band-aid on it," Kurtis said simply.

"But…Karel –"

"Stop worrying," Kurtis said. "We're professionals."

"Still not convinced," Emily said flatly.

"We'll be back sometime before noon tomorrow," Lara said. "Behave yourself for Garin and the others. Do exactly as they say, and don't leave the house without permission, _or_ without supervision."

"So there _is_ something to worry about then?" Emily challenged, folding her arms over her chest.

"Precaution," Kurtis assured her. "We'd make you do it even if there weren't Cabal followers wandering around."

"Yeah, sure," she commented.

Lara pulled herself into the cockpit of the helicopter, holding onto the railing above. "Go on inside now," she said. "If you're really so terrified, you can stay with Zip while he watches the feeds in the tech room from my camera."

Emily sighed. "Fine," she pouted. "But if you guys…_die_…I'll never forgive you."

"It hasn't happened yet," Kurtis said simply, pulling himself into the cockpit with Lara. "Take it easy, kid. We'll be fine."

Emily had tried to be brave, but when the propellers of the chopper started whirring, she felt her bravery convert to fear. She stepped away from the wind, shielding her eyes from the rising dust. The helicopter lifted from the ground fully, then flew off in the distance. Emily sighed quietly to herself. "You'd better be."

* * *

  
**Well, there ya have it. I will catch you on Monday with Chapter 11! Toodles!!**


	11. Iceland

**A rather short and disappointing chapter, but read it anyways!! XD**

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* * *

  
**Lara held onto the overhead pole as the chopper's blades cut through the dry air, heading for Grimsey Island. She watched as the ocean below rippled lightly in waves. She drew in a silent breath, glancing forward, hoping she could merely speculate by the time of day how much longer it would take them to get there.

Kurtis glanced at Lara. "It doesn't look much farther," he said. "Maybe five minutes."

Lara nodded. "Perfect," she said, meeting his gaze. He held it with her for a moment, seeing right through her. When she realized he was looking _at _her and not through her, she let out a small, defeated sigh. "Yes, I'm worried about Emma," she admitted.

"I know you are," he said. "She'll be fine. She's with Garin, and she has powers, too."

"That she doesn't know how to use," Lara added.

"It shouldn't take long," Kurtis said. "Before you know it, we'll be back to France, and Emily will be fine."

Lara drew in a silent breath, gazing out the window once again. "I sure hope so," Lara muttered.

* * *

  
The chopper dropped Lara and Kurtis off directly at the northern edge of the island. Several hundred feet down below, they could see the waves as they rapped against the cliff edges. Lara waved to the pilot as he flew away, offering her gratitude. Then, she turned to Kurtis. "Right, so we're looking for an underground crypt via some secret cave," Lara said. She tapped into her headset. "Any idea as to where this cave could be, Alister?"

"Along the northern edges…?" he replied.

"Not helpful," she said. "We'll check in with the locals…all one hundred of them."

"And I'm sure they'll be delighted to help a foreigner," Alister muttered.

"I have a way with words," she reasoned. She turned away with Kurtis, heading in the direction of the small cathedral in the distance. The entire island was deserted of people, it seemed like, and it had the ominous feel of a ghost town. "There's bound to be people inside," Lara said to Kurtis of the church.

"Let's hope they're not in the middle of their worship," he said.

They headed forward and opened the giant red doors. Since the place was quiet, they assumed there was no church service in session. They opened the second set of doors and stepped inside. The inside of the church was old and dingy. The pews were made of wood, which was rotting with age. There were cobwebs in the ceiling corners, and the bowl for the holy water was dried up. "I think a worship session was the least likely thing to happen," Lara muttered.

They heard a scuffle behind them and turned quickly on their heels, their hands reaching for their weapons. They stopped when they saw it was just an ordinary man – well, ordinary loosely used. He swayed back and forth on his feet, clutching at his head as if he were in pain. "I told you to get out of here!" he muttered to them angrily. "Don't make me call Father in here!"

"I'm sorry?" Lara asked. "Who are you?"

"_You_," he said lowly, pointing towards them. "You've come back to kill me, haven't you? _You_ demons!"

Lara glanced at Kurtis with confusion. "I think you've been misled," Lara said calmly.

"You'd better get out of here before Father comes! It'll be the end of you this time!"

"We're not here to cause harm," Lara reasoned. "We're looking for someone to help us…"

He shouted in pain. "Would you just leave me alone?" he demanded loudly.

Lara took a soft step backwards. _This man is insane, _she thought. Then, a door opened from behind them. She turned and faced the sound as a man came through the door, dressed in the robe of a priest – a more economical dressing. He was angry. "If you value your life, you'll leave immediately."

"We're just here to find something," Lara said.

"Like last time?" he asked. "The last time your kind came through here, Malcolm went insane."

Lara glanced back at the man, then turned towards the father. "Our kind?"

The priest calmly approached the man, helping him rise to his feet. "Searching for the armor of the Black Angel."

"You've got it wrong," Kurtis spoke up. "We've never been here before."

"But perhaps we know of whom you're referring to," Lara said. "A man named Karel?"

The priest turned towards her, then turned his attention back to Malcolm. "Help me take him to the home down the street. Then, we'll talk."

Lara and Kurtis glanced at each other uneasily, then helped the priest to carry the man down the dirt road towards the house at the end of the street. Malcolm immediately seated himself at the desk and began chanting under his breath, scribbling words and pictograms on pieces of paper before him.

"What's happened with him?" Lara asked softly.

"Several months ago, Malcolm went for a walk into the distance of the island, and he didn't return," the priest explained. "He left in perfectly sound condition, and then returned insane. Eventually, we were able to find out that a man named Karel had kidnapped him and tried to steal the neuronal transmitters from his brain in order to locate some artifact apparently stashed away here on our island."

Kurtis slowly approached Malcolm, leaning over the desk to watch him, a hint of sadness in his eyes. Lara turned back towards the priest. "What artifact was it?" Lara asked.

"An ancient knight's shield," he said.

"The armor," Lara added. "That's what we've come for, although we're being hunted by Karel as well. Was he able to find it?"

"Unfortunately, yes," he said. "Thankfully, he didn't kill Malcolm – instead, he left him half-alive, insane like he is now."

"He was fortunate to have survived," Lara said.

"He was psychic," Kurtis spoke up.

They turned towards him. "I beg your pardon?" the priest asked.

Kurtis gently took one of the scribbled papers from Malcolm's pile of drawing, holding it up towards the others. "These glyphs must've been what he'd seen on the armor," he said. "Karel had been trying to steal his telepathic nerve waves to find it. It looks like the armor was broken into two pieces, though. The drawings show the actual shield, but look here…" He pointed to the center of the drawing. "There's an insert here – like something needs to be put in it."

"The armor!" Malcolm shouted. They turned their attention to him. "Grimsey's cove, Grimsey's cove, Grimsey's cove," he muttered, rocking back and forth on his chair. Then, he began chanting in a foreign language.

"Latin," Kurtis said quickly. "He's saying something about the Lux disk."

"That must be what fits into the insert," Lara speculated.

"Grimsey's Cove is just north of here," the priest spoke.

"If Karel didn't find the Lux disk," Lara said, "then perhaps it's still in Grimsey's Cove."

"Only one way to find out," Kurtis said, dropping the paper back onto the table. Malcolm reached forward to the paper and drew it towards his chest, clinging to it for dear life.

Lara glanced up at Malcolm, then turned to the priest. "I'm sorry for what happened to him," she said softly. "We're going to find Karel, and when we do, we'll make sure he learns his lesson."

The priest gently gripped Malcolm's shoulder. "I respect your decision, whatever it is you might do." Lara nodded, and then she and Kurtis turned away, exiting the house.

* * *

  
Lara dropped into the moist cave hidden along the northern cliff's edges. She turned on her LED light to look about, glimpsing several glyphs and foreign writing. Kurtis dropped into the cave behind her. "What are these markings?" she asked him.

Kurtis brushed his hand fondly over the markings. "Lux Veritatis glyphs," he said. "It looks like a poetic stanza – it just keeps talking about the armor."

"If the armor and the disk were together, why would Karel leave one piece behind?" Lara asked, heading deeper into the cave.

"Maybe they weren't left together," Kurtis said. "Maybe there was another cave, perhaps on the opposite side."

"Perhaps…" Lara said slowly. She followed the cave deeper, the markings fading with the depth of the cave. Then, they reached the end of the hallway, and found there was nothing left. "Well, this is disappointing."

Lara turned towards Kurtis, but found him unresponsive. His arms were reached forward, his mind wandering about under the influence of Farsee. She sighed, leaning against the wall to wait for him to finish. _What a show-off,_ she thought.

After several moments, Kurtis returned to his body. "Finished yet?" Lara asked, a playful grin on her face.

He grinned back. "Don't be so impatient," he said. He approached the wall, brushing his hands over it. "This is a door," he said. "The disk is beyond it."

"So how do we open it?" Lara asked.

Kurtis ignored her, continuing to ponder over the texture of the door. Then, he placed his hand on the center, and his hand illuminated. The cracks in the texture of the door illuminated as well, revealing glyphs that lasted for just an instant. Then, the hall began to shake. He stepped back, and the door rose through the ceiling, dust falling off as it ascended. Kurtis turned to Lara with a smirk. "Like that," he said. He gestured for her to enter. "Ladies first," he said.

Lara glared at him for a moment, then brushed past him, entering through the corridor. The room was detailed with intricate patterns on the floor, walls, and ceilings. In the center, there were two vertical columns and an aura of blue energy between them. A small, gold disk floated in the energy. They approached it, admiring the artifact. "So if this is where the disk is," Lara said, "where had the shield been?"

"And why would Karel have left it behind?" Kurtis added.

"Well, regardless," Lara said, reaching forward, "it's ours now." She removed the artifact from its position, admiring it. Then, the room began to shake. They glanced about and realized the door was coming down. "Go!" Kurtis shouted to her. Lara quickly rushed forward, diving under the door as it descended. Kurtis followed just behind, and they quickly picked up the pace, running down the corridor. The walls alongside them began to compress, closing in on them within seconds. Lara moved as quickly as she could, then dove forward into the water, Kurtis following suit.

Lara turned towards where the cove had been, glad to have gotten out in time. She kept herself afloat, turning to Kurtis. "I suppose Siamak didn't want anyone getting near his armor," she said, relieved to be out of the death trap.

"We have the disk," Kurtis said. "That's all that matters."

"But without the shield, it's useless," she said. "We need to reach the sword quickly."

They swam through the water and back towards the cliff's low edge, pulling onto dry land. Lara shivered under the weight of her wet clothes, but fought to make notice of it. She tapped into her headset. "Alister, we've found the disk. How's the rest of the research coming along?"

Immediately, Lara received static feedback, a sharp ringing echoing through the headset. She cringed at the ear-shattering sound. "Alister, hello?" she repeated. She received the same feedback again. She turned towards Kurtis, her stomach coiling. "Something's wrong," she said.

* * *

**As if that wasn't obvious -_- And Malcolm was inspired to me by Tony from TR3...so yeah.**

**Okay, check ya guys on Wednesday!!  
**


	12. Trouble

**You guys are really going to hate me...**

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**Emily lay on her bed atop her stomach, staring forward at the metal lighter that stood on the dresser opposite the bed, taunting her. She kept replaying the previous night's incidents, upset with herself that she hadn't been able to help her parents more. _I need to stop being so afraid and just go for it,_ she thought. If she'd have been able to reach her lighter, she might've been able to have stopped that man. Instead, she'd done something else. Something weird.

His face had been burned in the shape of a handprint – how had that happened? Had that been something she'd done? And if so, _how_? It was like she'd used her hand to burn him, without even using a lighter.

Emily sighed, rolling over on her back to stare up at the ceiling. It was just about three o'clock in the afternoon in Le Havre. She couldn't take her mind off of her parents. If something happened to them, what would happen with her? Of course, she _could_ go downstairs and watch the video feeds with Zip, but strangely, that seemed more intimidating. Right now, she just wanted to be alone.

Emily looked up at the lighter again, staring at it as if it were challenging her to a duel in the wild west. Then, she slowly rose to her feet and took the lighter into her hand. She flicked the top open, drawing in a deep breath. She moved away from the walls – and all other objects, for that matter – and reached her opposite hand towards the lighter as she ignited the flame. Then, she summoned the flicker into her open palm. _Nothing unordinary yet,_ she thought.

She set the lighter down on the dresser, focusing on the flame in her hands. Then, she closed her eyes, willing her mind to increase the size of the flame. When she opened them, the flame had grown bigger. She gasped in amazement, nearly depleting the flame. Then, she made it even bigger, until it was about the size it had been in Kurtis's hands several nights before.

_Now if I could just figure out what had happened last night…_She continued to focus on the energy before her, watching as it flickered and danced in her palm. Then, she heard footsteps outside the hallway. She gasped, and the flame disappeared. Once she was sure no one was coming in, Emily stared down at her hand, then reached forward in the direction of where a small nightstand lamp sat. She jerked her wrist in its direction, and a stream of pyrokinetic energy flew forward, impaling the small lamp into smithereens. She screamed and covered her head, ducking behind the bed. Then, she slowly sat up, assessing the damage. _How the heck did I do that?_ she asked herself.

Moments a later, a knock came to the door. She startled, and gripped her lighter, hiding it in her pocket. "C-Come in," she said quickly.

Garin opened the door and peered inside. "Is everything alright in here?"

"Fine," she said quickly. He glanced down at the broken lamp, then entered the room, bending down near the broken pieces. He scooped one of them into his hands. "I-I'm sorry," Emily said quickly.

"What happened?" he asked calmly.

"I…I bumped the dresser and it fell off," she lied.

He examined the piece in his hand, noting the black smudge, as though it had been through a fire. Then, he stood, facing the nervous girl before him."What _really _happened?"

Emily glanced about the room nervously, then sighed quietly. "I…I was playing with my lighter…"

He reached a hand forward, gesturing for her to give it to him. She handed it over, and he flicked it open. No flames came out. "Looks like you're out of lighter fluid," he said calmly.

Emily nodded slowly. "Right."

"I'll get you some more," he said. "Lunch is ready, by the way."

Garin headed out of the room, her lighter in his hand. Emily glanced down at the broken lamp, then followed him out the door, hoping he wouldn't bring the subject up again.

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Emily sat at the dinner table, eating the sandwich she had made herself. Garin was wandering about the house, and Zip and Alister were in the library, serving as backup informers for Lara and Kurtis. Emily sighed, staring down at the empty plate before her. What was the fun in having adventurers for parents if they wouldn't take her anywhere? Of course, she'd already had her fair share of brushes with death – and weird experiences with the lighter and her own powers – but still, she hated being stuck here alone.

Emily dropped her plate in the sink, Garin's whereabouts unknown. Then, she startled at the sound of a gunshot. She turned quickly in the direction of which she'd heard it, then relaxed when she saw it was Garin outside, a firearm in his hand, aimed at a target in the distance. Emily watched him through the window as he fired again at the silhouette in the distance. Then, she headed outside, careful not to startle him or interrupt his training. She covered her ears as the hollow sound echoed. Then, Garin turned and faced her, smiling subtly at her presence. "Is everything okay?" he asked.

"It's fine," she said calmly. "You scared me when I heard the gunshot."

He chuckled. "I forgot you were gunshy, in the most literal sense."

She shuffled her feet before her. "Can you teach me?"

Garin stared down at the gun in his hand, then gestured for her to come over. He removed his earmuffs and handed them to her. As she put them on, he held up a magazine before her. "This is the clip," he said. "And it holds the bullets. When you fire, the casing is going to fly out backwards, so don't freak out when that happens. Now this is just a Glock 17, but you're small, and you're going to feel its recoil when you fire, so you need to hold it steadily with two hands and aim at the red mark on the silhouette through the sights."

Emily held the weapon up, closing one eye as she peered directly through the sight. "What now?" she asked.

Garin pulled the gun towards him and inserted the clip. Then, he pulled back on the slide, loading the bullets into the chamber. He held it carefully, extending it towards Emily. She took it slowly into her hands, then extended her reach towards the target in the distance. "You're all set to go," Garin said. "Get a good grip on it, then pull back on the trigger."

Emily drew in a deep breath, then peered through the rear and front sights. Then, she pulled back on the trigger, firing. The gun kicked, and she startled a bit, turning to Garin. He nodded, impressed. "Not too bad," he said. "You hit him in the shoulder."

Emily reached forward again, firing another round. She continued to fire until the magazine emptied. Then, Garin pressed a button, summoning the target towards them. All ten shots had pierced the paper. "You're pretty damn good for your first time," he said. "Your parents will be thrilled to see this." He removed the silhouette paper from the clips and handed it to her. "Hang it on your wall," he grinned. "That's something to be proud of."

Emily grinned at him, scanning over the damage she'd done. _Mom and Dad are going to go crazy! _she thought. Then, she set it down, examining the pistol in her hand. "First, check the chamber to make sure there are no more bullets left inside." Emily peered into the chamber, the empty space assuring them that the gun was in fact empty. "Now push the magazine release button here," Garin said, pointing at the button outside of the grip. "Then push down on the slide release lever." Emily did as instructed, then turned the gun over in her hand. "Congratulations," Garin said. "You've learned the basic crash course of firing a semi-automatic pistol."

"That was fun," Emily said. "You think Mom and Dad will buy me my own gun?"

Garin chuckled. "Not sure – although they both have enough weapons to go around for an entire army corps."

Emily continued to play with the pistol in her hand, ejecting and reinserting the empty clip as Garin picked up some of the shells lying around. Then, he became serious. "Emily, go inside," he said quickly.

Emily looked to him strangely. "What, why?"

He quickly took the Glock from her hand, loading a spare magazine into it. "Do as I say. And take this with you." He handed her her lighter. Emily headed towards the house, glancing in the direction Garin was aiming the gun at. Then, she saw it – men coming through the back woods. Emily stopped – would Garin be alright? Then, she knew if she stayed behind, it would be an even worse liability for him. She quickly bolted into the house, straight for the tech room. "There are merks coming!" she said to Zip, panting from the loss of energy.

Zip quickly rolled over to the computer, punching in buttons on the keyboard. Emily peered outside, watching as Garin slowly made his way towards the house, yet continuing to fire on the intruding enemies. Then, he turned and quickly ran towards the house. "Bloody hell," Alister muttered in panic. "This is going to be insane!"

Emily quickly looked down at her lighter, then flicked it open, revealing a flame. _Good thing it works now,_ she thought. "Are we going to be able to hold them off?" Emily asked nervously.

"We'll be okay," Zip said quickly.

Garin entered the room suddenly, stumbling about, gripping his shoulder. Emily grew wide-eyed when he removed his hand and revealed a bullet wound. "Is the security system up?" he asked Zip quickly.

"I'm on it," Zip said.

"Either of you know how to use a gun?"

"Rifles and pistols," Zip said.

"Not much more than pistols," Alister said nervously.

Garin made his way towards the safe hidden behind the oil painting on the opposite wall, punching in a code to reveal some hidden guns. He handed a rifle to Zip and a Bereta to Alister. "There's one last resort we have," he said. "It's a psychic ward shield, but I have to get upstairs to activate it."

"Leaving us here?" Alister asked quickly.

"It'll only take a minute," he said, pushing off the wall. Then, he turned and headed towards the stairs to reach this psychic shield. Zip rose from his seat, holding the rifle close to his body.

"Emily, you need to hide," Zip said.

"What about you guys?" she asked.

"We'll be okay," he said. "You need to get out of sight. Hide somewhere upstairs, and don't make a sound."

Emily swallowed, too afraid to move. Then, she drew in a deep breath and turned away, her feet heavy with each step as she headed up the stairs. She heard some scuffles in the next room. _Must be Garin,_ she thought. She headed in the direction of the sounds, gripping her lighter in her good hand. Then, she pushed the door open, her stomach coiling with fear.

Before her stood a tall, blonde man, gripping Garin by the throat with surges of green energy throughout his hands. Emily stopped dead in her tracks, too scared and shocked to move. She knew she needed to run, but she couldn't. The man turned towards her, dropping Garin to the floor. "You must be Emily," he said, a sly grin on his face. Emily took a step backwards. _I've got to get out of here!_ The man extended his hand in her direction, as if waiting for a handshake. "I'm so very honored to finally meet you."

"W-Who are you?" she asked fearfully.

Garin coughed, struggling to sit up behind the man. "Get out of here, Emily!"

The man's sly smile dropped, and he turned towards Garin, sending a surge of green energy in his direction, knocking him back to the floor with a cry of pain. She couldn't very well leave Garin behind, but it might even save his life if she did run. As the man stayed focused on Garin, Emily turned and bolted down the stairs. The next thing she knew, she was tumbling head over heels, a sharp, warm glaze of green fire knocking her down the steps. She stumbled into the wall at the bottom of the staircase, hitting her head on the window sill. Her vision clouded for a moment, and when it cleared, she saw the man casually coming down the stairs towards her.

She stood to run, but as soon as she rounded the corner, she was staring down the barrel of a shotgun. Several mercenaries lined the hall before her. Emily took a fearful step backwards, but found that her path was blocked by the blonde man. She glanced around frantically for an escape, but found nothing. She was trapped. She gripped the lighter in her hand, hoping she could summon her powers back to fight.

The blonde man approached her. "I'm sorry to have used my power against you," he said. "But it seemed the only way." Two of the mercenaries grabbed her by both arms, restraining her. She slowly looked up at the man for the first real time since she'd seen him. "Who are you?" she asked fearfully.

"My name is Joachim Karel," he said. "I'm a friend of your parents'."

"Friend?" she scoffed. "They told me you tried to kill them."

"Everyone has their own opinion," he said simply.

"What do you want?" she asked.

"It shall all be explained in good time," he promised. "Until then, you'll need to come with me."

"I'm not going anywhere with you!" she protested.

"It doesn't seem like you have much of a choice, child," he argued, turning away.

More mercenaries entered from the nearby hallway, dropping both Zip and Alister's unconscious bodies to the floor. Emily gasped. "What did you do?" she demanded.

"They're not dead," Karel said. "Not yet, anyway. If you wish to save their lives, you'll come with me."

Emily stared down at her friends' bodies, knowing this Karel guy meant serious business. _And Mom and Dad thought it would be safe to leave me here,_ she scoffed in her mind. She sighed with defeat, closing her eyes. "Fine," she said, barely audible. "Just don't hurt my friends."

"Very noble of you," Karel praised. "Then I shall keep my word."

The mercenaries turned their attention away from her comrades, keeping their focus on her. Karel approached her, and she cringed away. He plucked the lighter from her hands, examining it. "Interesting," he commented. "Aren't you a bit young to be a smoker?"

Emily glanced around, to afraid to make eye contact with the freak before her. Karel flicked the lighter open, revealing the flame. Then, Emily got the idea to summon the fire to her. _It might be the best idea,_ she thought quickly. Instead, however, the flame didn't come to her – it exploded before her, as a tank of gasoline might when met with fire. Karel, the mercenaries, and Emily fell backwards, the lighter dropping to the floor. She quickly regained equilibrium, snatching the lighter from the floor. Karel was already rising to his feet, but Emily was quicker. She opened the lighter, called the flame into her free hand, then shot a surge of pyrokinetic energy in Karel's direction.

Karel flew backwards, through the glass window, and outside the house. The mercenaries quickly aimed their weapons at her, ordering her to halt. She stepped back into the wall, lifting her hands as they inched closer to neutralize her. She had other plans. _I wonder if this will work…_she thought speculatively.

Emily closed her eyes, willing the attempt to work. She flicked open the lighter, using her mind as best she could to summon the flame throughout her body. When she opened her eyes a moment later, her entire body was engulfed in flames – she was a walking inferno. She reached her palms towards the mercenaries and bolts of fire flew about, defeating each of them in an instant. Emily turned towards the window where Karel stood, shock in his eyes. Then, he glared at her, stepping back into the room. He formed an orb of green energy and shot it towards her, sending her flying into the back wall. As soon as she fell to the ground, the fire depleted. She struggled to sit up, blood slowly pouring from her temple. Karel marched towards her in his intimidating demeanor. Then, he reached a hand towards her, using telekinesis to lift her to her feet.

Emily gasped for air, choking and reaching for the invisible hand around her throat. Karel held his hand in her direction. "There's too much of your parents in you for your own good, little one." She continued to struggle until she felt that her eyes would pop from her head. Then, Karel unexpectedly released her – and flew backwards down the hallway. Emily gasped for air as she fell to the ground. Then, she looked up, seeing Garin come down the stairs with a gun in one hand, and his other hand outstretched towards Karel to hold him off with his psychic abilities.

Karel stood to his feet, glaring at the Lux knight that stood before him. "You Lux Veritatis just don't know when to die."

"Your business isn't with the child," Garin said. "It's with us Lux knights. Leave her out of this."

"You don't know what my business concerns," Karel retorted. "If you value your life, you'll leave here and now."

"I don't think so," Garin said, raising his gun towards the enemy.

"Guns won't do anything, in case you've forgotten."

"This one will," Garin assured him. Garin pulled back on the trigger – at the exact same moment that Karel impaled him with a bolt of energy. Garin flew backwards into the wall, breaking through the barricade, and finally falling to the ground, barely conscious. Karel began to convulse as the bullet inside of him had an unusual effect. He groaned in pain, falling to his knees. His profile began to change every second, as though his telepathic waves were being disrupted. Then, he cried out in pain, and vanished, as if exploding into pieces.

Emily uncovered her head, looking up slowly. Karel was gone. The mercenaries were dead. Zip and Alister were still down the hall, unconscious. Then, she turned towards Garin, who lay on the floor, wounded from a bullet, and blood pooling under his shirt at his stomach. Emily quickly crawled over to him, shaking his arm. "Garin, wake up," she urged him nervously. "Karel's gone…"

Garin groaned, slowly opening his eyes. "Emma…"

"Come on, you have to wake up!" she said more urgently. "You need to stay with me!"

"Tell your father…"

Emily shook her head as her eyes began to tear up. "No…" she muttered. "Don't talk like that. Hold on a bit longer! We'll get you to the hospital!"

He grabbed her by the wrist and pulled her closer to him, demanding her attention. He looked into her eyes and communicated with her telepathically. _…I'll see him in Lemuria._ Then, his grip fell limp, and his eyes closed. Emily stared down at him in shock, denying that he'd died just before her. She shook him by the arm. "Garin, wake up…" she muttered, choking on sobs. "They'll be back soon…" She shook him again, but gained no response. "Wake up…"

Then, she dropped her head, tears pouring from her eyes. She covered her face, sobbing into her hands.

* * *

  
**Well...there ya have it. Don't hate me TOO much...I've got things under control!!! See you guys on Saturday! =D**


	13. Gateway to Hell

**No I didn't forget...the website was being stupid and wouldn't let me log on for no adequately explored reason =P**

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**Lara and Kurtis jumped from the helicopter before it even touched the ground. They quickly loaded fresh magazines into their pistols, running towards the manor in Le Havre. Kurtis could feel it – something wasn't right. And Lara didn't have to be psychic to know something was wrong, either.

They both quickly pushed through the door of the house, standing in the midst of destroyed glass, picture frames, and table ornaments. They glanced around frantically, glimpsing the hand of a body lying in the hallway. Lara quickly headed in its direction to see both Alister and Zip unconscious before her. She quickly bent down, shaking them awake. She breathed relief when they stirred, groaning with pain. "What in the bloody hell happened…?" Alister said, sitting up.

"You tell me," Lara said.

"Karel," Zip muttered, rubbing the bump on his head. "He and his damned buddies came through and tried to take Emma."

"Where is she?" Lara demanded quickly.

"Lara!" Kurtis called down the hall. She quickly rose to her feet and headed in the direction of his voice. She stopped in her tracks when she saw Garin's corpse lying before Kurtis as he bent over his old friend. Kurtis breathed in a low, silent breath, as if defeated in an instant. Lara quietly bent down at Garin's side as well, drawing in the same breath. "I'm so sorry, Kurtis," she said quietly.

"Yeah," he muttered. "Me too."

Kurtis continued to mourn over his fallen brother as Lara rose to her feet. She glanced towards Alister and Zip, who stood just feet away. "Where is Emily?" she asked.

"I-I don't know," Alister stammered. "She was…"

Lara glanced down at the fallen mercenaries lining the hallway, their clothes holed with crisped tears from being singed. Then, she turned up the hallway, stopping in each room to call her daughter's name. Finally, she entered the old storage room – the last room – calling for Emily. She heard a small shuffle in the corner, and raised her gun, wary it could be a trap. She lowered her weapon, though, when she recognized her daughter. "Thank God," Lara breathed, holstering her weapon as she approached Emily's side. "Are you alright?" she asked quickly.

Emily sat curled in a ball in the back corner, her legs pulled to her chest, her hair falling over her face. Lara bent down near her daughter. "Emma…" she said slowly. "Are you…are you hurt?" Emily slowly shook her head negatively, then reached a hand up to wipe her eyes. Finally, she looked up at her mother, her eyes swollen from crying. "Is Garin…?"

Lara sighed quietly. "He's…he's dead." Emily dropped her head again, tucking her head into her arms folded over her knees. Lara tucked Emily's hair behind her ear. "I'm sorry, love," she said softly. "Won't you come downstairs?"

Emily slowly looked up at her mother, then drew in a slow breath. Finally, she rose to her feet, following Lara down the hallway. She was entirely grateful to see that Kurtis had taken Garin's body outside so Emily wouldn't have to see it again. Alister kicked some of the glass around, sighing. "Thankfully I missed the action…" He turned towards Zip. "Some security system you have."

"At least _I_ know how to use a weapon," Zip retorted.

"Enough, you two," Lara silenced them. Lara turned to Emily. "Stay here for a moment," she said. Then, she turned and headed out the back door, glimpsing Kurtis in the distance. She slowly approached him, staring out at the distance. Lara drew in a silent breath. "Thank you for taking his body out from the house," she said quietly. "Emma's quite shaken up."

Kurtis turned towards her, a strange look on his face. "I didn't touch his body," he said.

Lara matched his gaze. "Corpses don't just get up and walk away," she said.

Kurtis gazed past her with suspicion, then brushed past her to return to the house. Lara followed after him as he entered the house, leaning over the kitchen sink, thinking. Lara stood next to him, folding her arms over her chest. "What are you thinking?" she asked softly.

"There's only one place he could be," he pondered. Then, he looked up at Lara.

"Lemuria?" she asked cautiously.

"He did say something about that," Emily chipped in from behind them.

Lara and Kurtis turned to face their daughter as she stood under the doorway. "What did he say?" Kurtis asked quickly.

"He said that he'd see you in Lemuria," she said quietly.

"He might've known something we didn't," Lara speculated, "and held it back for our own protection."

"I can't get into Lemuria," Kurtis argued. "I wouldn't even know where to begin. Garin was the one who seemed to know everything."

"We'll figure something out," Lara said, placing a hand on his shoulder.

Kurtis shook her touch off of him and turned away, brushing past Emily in silence. Lara sighed quietly, knowing this had hurt both Kurtis and Emily hard. Then, she turned past Emily to find Alister. She found him and Zip in the hallway, dragging the bodies outside. "Alister, you need to find a location on the knight's sword," she said. "We need to get to him quickly. He may be the only one to help us get into Lemuria."

"Right," Alister said, abandoning his dirty job. "I'll get on it immediately."

Alister turned down the hallway, heading towards the library to start doing research. Lara glanced down at Emily. "Why don't you go upstairs and relax for a bit," she said. "We'll relocate later this evening."

Emily turned and headed up the stairs without a sound. Zip sighed, approaching Lara's side. "She's really taking it hard, isn't she?" Zip asked.

"She's still a child," Lara reminded him. "Once Alister finds a location on the sword, we're leaving town."

"Of course," Zip said. "And what about Kurtis? Is he okay?"

"I don't know who's taking it worse," she sighed. "Kurtis or Emily…"

She turned away from Zip, heading up the stairs to find Kurtis. Emily's door was closed, as if telling the world to go away. The door to Kurtis's room was cracked open, as if desiring privacy, but allowing only a specific person inside. Lara drew in a deep breath, then knocked twice, and pushed the door open. She found Kurtis packing his things into his suitcase, merely glancing up at Lara's presence. Lara closed the door behind her. "I know this is difficult for you –"

"Don't give me any bedside treatment right now," Kurtis interrupted. "I'm not in the mood."

Lara was taken aback. "Kurtis, I'm just trying to –"

"Whatever it is, just don't do it," he said.

Lara eyed him suspiciously. "What is this really about?"

"Let's see," he said with sarcasm, turning away from his bag. "Garin is dead, Karel's out and about like a contagious disease, and Emily was almost kidnapped – _again_. What do you _think_ this is about?"

"Stop being so hostile towards me," Lara demanded. "I'm trying to help you –"

"I don't want your help," he said flatly.

Lara recoiled in shock, her face knitting with confusion as the man she loved stood before her, denying her. She was hurt, but the look in his eyes read that he didn't even care. Again, she felt that unease creeping into her heart – the one she'd felt when he'd shoved her into the wall the night before as anger overtook him.

The last thing she wanted to do was make him angry. Instead, she dropped her gaze to the floor and turned away, exiting the room. She pulled the door shut and leaned against the wall, closing her eyes as she drew in a deep breath. _Well I feel quite useless right now,_ she thought. _Perhaps I ought to go talk to Emily again._ She turned down the hall, pushing her thoughts of Kurtis out of her mind, and opening Emily's door. She found the young girl seated on her bed, holding a poster in her hand. Lara slowly approached her, seating herself next to her daughter.

"Ah, target practice," Lara grinned, looking over the silhouette poster in Emily's hands.

Emily nodded. "Garin taught me to shoot a Glock," she said quietly.

"You did this?" Lara asked.

She nodded again. "He said I was pretty good for my first time."

"That you are," Lara agreed, peering over the shots through the paper. "And to think I haven't yet trained you…"

Emily slowly lowered the paper to her lap, looking up at her mother. "Why…why are you and Dad fighting?"

Lara sighed quietly, pulling Emily's hair back. "He's…he's not taking Garin's death very well."

Emily set the silhouette aside. "Is he going to stay with us when all of this is done?"

Lara wished she could've just lied to Emily and told her yes – she wished it for both of their sakes. However, she couldn't do that. "I don't know," Lara admitted.

"Do you…do you want him to?"

Lara sighed again. "There are a lot of things to work out, Emma," she said softly.

Emily sighed in irritation, rising to her feet to start packing her things. _She's too much like her father,_ Lara thought as she watched Emily repeat the same actions she'd seen Kurtis enacting moments before. She rose to her feet, heading towards the door. "I'll let you know when we're leaving," she said, leaving the room.

Lara sighed in her mind as she trudged down the stairs, wishing the day would just move along. She entered the library, feeling as though her presence was essentially dispensable. Alister turned towards her upon her entrance. "Glad you're here, Lara," he said. "I've got some information."

"Perfect," Lara said, glad to feel occupied. "What do you have?"

"Well, it looks like we're going to be heading for Ireland," he started.

"Is that where the sword is?"

"After finding correlations between both my research and Garin's research, yes," he said. "We're to go to the town of Glarryford. The sword is fabled to be hidden in Dundermot Mound."

"How's that for irony," Lara said. "One of the two legendary Ireland gateways into hell."

"Yes, well, let's hope we don't encounter any coach drivers asking if the bridge is still up," Alister sighed.

"It could be interesting," Lara joked. "If that's where you say it is, though, then that's where we'll go."

"All I've got is that location," Alister confessed, "but I can likely find some more information."

"Smashing," Lara said as Zip entered the library. "Zip, we need to get to Glarryford in Ireland. Arrange flight plans immediately, please."

"Will do," Zip said, seating himself at the computer.

Lara leaned over the laptop on the opposite desk, pulling up the video and audio communication satellite feeds to make a call to Ireland. After several rings, it was answered by Lara's old friend, Father Patrick. "Lara, is that you?" he asked, half-shocked.

Lara grinned, nodding. "It is," she said. "And how are you, Father?"

"As well as can be expected," he chuckled. "All things age with time."

"Of course," Lara said. "It looks like we'll be heading into Ireland sometime later this evening. Is there any chance we'd be able to meet up for a chat?"

"Chasing more demon knights, I see?" he joked.

"Something of the sort," Lara replied.

"I would love nothing more," he answered. "When are you and your friends expecting to arrive?"

"Sometime in the late evening," Lara said.

"Then I'll look forward to seeing you soon," he said.

"Are you free tomorrow afternoon?" she asked.

"Absolutely," he replied. "I'll see you then."

Lara turned the communicator off and faced the boys, startling a bit to see Kurtis in the room. "Thanks for the update," he muttered irritably.

"Oh, I'm sorry," she replied with sarcasm. "I'd assumed you still wanted nothing to do with me."

He turned to Alister, ignoring Lara's sarcasm. "We're going to Ireland?"

"Y-Yes," he said, a bit confused as to their hostility. "To Glarryford. The sword is located in Dundermot Mound."

"Then what are we still doing here?" he asked, scooping up one of the bags lying nearby.

Lara glared at him, and he glared right back. They held the hostile gaze for what seemed an eternity, both challenging each other beneath their eyes. Lara drew in a silent breath as she folded her arms over her chest. Then, she turned towards Zip and Alister, who were more confused than Lara was angry. "Let's get things cleaned up," she said softly. She glared up at Kurtis again, then turned away heading towards the foot of the stairs. "Emily, we're leaving!" she called up the hallway.

* * *

**Ah, Dundermot Mound...I researched it and found out that apparently superstition tells that there was a cabbie lost in a storm or something and the last time he was seen, he was asking if the bridge at Dundermot was still up...then apparently Hell itself opened up and swallowed him and his cab...so rumor holds that if anyone passes by Dundermot Mound and encounters the cabbie asking about the bridge and they answer him, then they will die within a year......perhaps my story-telling is a bit off, so that's my disclaimer...but I did my best to retell it, haha.**

**I'll catch you guys on Wednesday!  
**


	14. Reaching Equilibrium

**Here we are yet again. Chapter 14 is up for your viewing pleasure. Read on, minions.**

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**"Wow," Emily breathed, gazing up at the ceiling of the hotel. The railings along the stairwells were embellished with gold, the floors were tiled of marble, and the ceiling had articulate watercolor designs, giving the building shade. Of course, the Croft Manor was twice as grand as this, but she'd never really been outside of her home – anything from a dark alley to Buckingham Palace was a new experience for her.

Emily pulled her bag taught against her shoulder, struggling to keep her grip on her luggage and her backpack at the same time. "This place is nice," she commented.

"A little unnecessary if you ask me," Kurtis muttered.

"Well, thankfully no one asked you," Lara retorted.

Emily dropped her head, knowing better than to observe the fight. For whatever reason, Kurtis and Lara were still arguing, and they certainly weren't making any effort to hide their animosity. Alister cleared his throat, stepping forward. "I'll check in with the bellman for our rooms," he said quickly, leaving the scene.

"Why are we staying here if you have a friend that lives in Ireland?" Kurtis asked irritably.

"So you have one more thing to complain about," Lara replied.

"Quite a waste of time and energy, don't you think?" he asked rhetorically.

"This hotel is closer to Glarryford than where Father lives," she said dryly. "Is there anything else you'd like to argue with me about?"

"Several things," Kurtis said. "But I'll keep it quiet for now." He held his glare with Lara for a moment, absently taking Emily's bag from her hand and turning to follow after Alister's path, just to get himself away from Lara. Emily watched with confusion as Kurtis trudged away angrily with her bag in his hand. Then, she sighed. "Can't you guys just _try _to get along?" she asked calmly.

"Go help Zip with the bags," Lara said, ignoring her request. "He knows which rooms are ours. Follow him upstairs when you're done."

Lara watched as Emily tiredly headed out the side door of the hotel to reach the van where the rest of the bags were being unloaded. Then, she drew in a long, silent, deep breath, trying to purge herself of her anger before she was face-to-face with Kurtis again. For whatever reason, he was completely irritable with her, and for what? Had she honestly done anything to upset him? Sure, he was upset about Garin's death, but he acted as though it was _her _fault – either that, or as though she was just an imposition on his life.

Lately, he'd been so wishy-washy. One minute, he was the Kurtis she'd known since the dawn of time. The next, he was blowing up in her face angrily, behaving in a threatening manner that Lara would never have expected from such a person as Kurtis. Then, within a moment's time, he changed again – he was cold and distant. _I'm starting to think he's the woman in this relationship, _Lara thought. _Whatever this relationship is…_

There were still some things he'd not told her. He hadn't spoken more than a few words of Lemuria, except to say it had devastated him. What exactly had happened? There had to have been something that had completely changed him around – obviously not for the best. Getting him to bring it up though would require stepping behind enemy lines. Lara knew a thing or two about that – but she was never afraid to do it in those times. Here, she knew bridges could be burned if she took the wrong step. _No matter how upset we are with each other, I won't lose him again. Three times is too many._

With that thought, she fought to push her irritability aside even more, closing her eyes and counting to three, then opening them and forcing a subtle smile to her face as she approached Alister. He scooped up five room keys into his hands and turned to face her, holding them up in view. "All set now," he said. "The bellman says these five cards have access to all three rooms, so make sure no one loses theirs."

Lara plucked one of the keys from his hand. "Smashing," she said. "Then let's get settled in."

"Where's Emily?" Kurtis asked her hollowly.

"Helping Zip," Lara replied as calmly as she could manage. "They'll be up in a bit."

"Brilliant idea," he muttered. "Leave her unsupervised."

"She's with Zip," she said, a bit more firmly. "They're retrieving the bags, not trekking the Himalayas."

"I don't care _what_ they're doing," he said. "We can't take her out of our sight."

Kurtis dropped the bags at Lara's feet, turning and leaving through the same door Emily had gone through. Lara glared angrily at him, finding the task of being cordial a lot harder than expected. "Look who's suddenly 'father-of-the-year'," she muttered.

"He's just trying to help, Lara," Alister said.

Lara glared at him. "I wasn't asking for your opinion," she said coldly.

Lara turned away, scooping up the bags that Kurtis had dropped and heading towards the elevator in the distance. Right now, she didn't want to be around anyone – not Kurtis, not Emily, not Zip, and not Alister. She needed her space. They were all growing on her – not so much Emily, but the rest were.

The ding of the elevator was the most relief she'd gotten in days. The eighth floor of the hotel dropped her off just around the corner to room 836. Unfortunately, she'd be sharing the room with Kurtis. She'd planned to share the room with Emily at first, but after a while, decided it would be good to give the girl her space.

Lara dropped her bag on the ground, heading straight for the window to peer out over the view of the Ireland night sky. Even living just a few hundred miles away, she'd never really gotten to visit Ireland. The last time she'd been there, she was sixteen years old, chasing away evil spirits on the Black Isle. She chuckled to herself a bit, recognizing the foreshadowing – now Emily, twelve years old, was here in Ireland, being chased by evil spirits, aka Karel. _How's that for irony?_ she thought.

Lara heard the doorknob twisting behind her, and she turned to look upon Kurtis wearily entering the room, dropping his bag down with a thud. "Where's Emma?" Lara asked quickly.

"In the room with Zip and Alister," he said. "She's helping them hook the things up."

"She should be getting to bed," Lara said. "We have to be up early to meet with Father."

"Then go ahead and tell her that," he muttered, running his fingers through his hair.

Lara glared at him for a split second, then turned her gaze outside to the sky again. She heard the bedsprings creak as Kurtis seated himself on one of the mattresses, sighing with exhaustion. _This tension is going to be the death of me,_ she sighed in her mind. Then, she heard him removing his shoes, likely preparing for sleep. Lara knew she should do the same. She turned away, trying to avoid looking at him, even as she seated herself on the opposite side of the bed. On the way over, though, she stopped, glancing down at the Chirugai lying atop the nightstand.

Lara glanced back at Kurtis, who leaned back on the pillows, closing his eyes. Then, she returned her gaze to the legendary weapon. She let her fingers gently fall over the cold metal. It suddenly struck her that she hadn't seen him use it once since he'd returned from Lemuria. She scooped it into her hands tenderly, holding it close to her heart. Then, she turned and looked over at Kurtis, who lay motionless on the bed. Normally, he would react, as though the Chirugai was a part of him, as though he could feel when it lay in someone else's hands. It was now as though he had no knowledge and no care of what became of it. Lara wasn't quite sure why, but the mere thought brought pain and ache into her heart, not only for herself, but for Kurtis as well. She turned towards him – he still hadn't moved. "Why don't you use it anymore?" she asked softly.

After a silent moment, he stirred, removing his arm from over his eyes and looking wearily upon her. "What?"

"The Chirugai," she said. "It used to be your other half. Now you can care less."

"Guns are more effective," he muttered.

"You're a poor liar," she said.

"Go psychoanalyze someone else, Lara," he said.

He sat up and roughly pulled the disk from her hands, tossing it onto the floor by the nightstand. Then, he leaned back on the pillows, covering his face with his arms. Instead of being angry or afraid, Lara felt an overwhelming sadness overtake her soul. _He's given up on everything that's ever meant something to him,_ she thought.

Lara drew in a silent breath. He'd saved her time and time again, mostly from herself. Now, it was her time to do the rescuing. She reached a tender hand up to his arm, pulling it away from his face so she could look into his empty eyes. She held her gaze with him for eternity, wishing she could just read what his mind was thinking. "What happened in Lemuria?" she asked him.

Kurtis stared up at her, then broke the gaze, staring past her. He let his eyes slowly drift shut. "Nothing," he muttered.

"Kurtis, please," she begged softly.

He sighed, sitting up, dropping his feet over the edge of the bed to where his back faced her. "What the hell does it matter?" he muttered.

"It matters to me," Lara said firmly. "You used to have to drag it out of me when I refused to admit anything I felt. Now, I'm going to do the same with you."

"There's no point," he said hollowly.

"There _is_ a point," she argued. "It hurts me to see you feel this way, to know that not even _I_ can save you from what's killing you. Me, the woman whom you said you loved. Or has that changed in the past twelve years?"

"It can't change," he said. "It never would."

"Then why the hostility?" she asked. "Why are you pulling away from me?"

He ran his fingers through his hair, leaning onto his hands. Lara could tell he was growing frustrated, but she wasn't about to stop now. _If anything, it's causing progress,_ she thought, even if he did have to blow up on her – at least then he'd get it out. It would be like sucking the poison out after being bitten by a snake. It would hurt, no doubt, but only for a minute.

Kurtis didn't respond. He remained in silence, holding his head in his hands. "Why won't you talk to me?" she asked.

The next thing she knew, Kurtis had lurched himself in her direction, shoving her backwards onto the bed, his weight suspended over her. He pinned her down with one hand against her throat. The other hand was balled into a fist, raised in the air as if he intended to strike her. She knew she should be afraid – could this even be defined as domestic violence? Instead, she challenged him – she held her gaze with him. The hatred in his eyes was currently directed towards her, and she half-expected him to send a fierce blow to her face, or to start strangling her. _I know you're in there somewhere,_ she thought, searching his eyes, never breaking her gaze with him.

After moments passed, she saw the hatred slowly fade away and convert into guilt and sadness. She felt his grip on her throat loosen. She heard his breathing coming more steadily. Then, he looked about, as if he wasn't even aware of what was happening. He pulled himself off of her and sat back on the bed, then crawled off of it, facing away from her where he stood.

Lara slowly sat up, watching him carefully. He gazed down at his shaking hands as if he didn't even recognize them to be his own. Lara slowly rose to her feet and stood just inches behind him, to the point where she could feel the heat coming from his body. Then, she slowly rose a hand to both of his arms. He startled, as if he didn't recognize her touch. Then, he turned and faced her. "I don't know what I've done…" he said.

Lara stared up into his eyes, then slowly leaned forward, reaching him for an embrace. That was all he would need – a tender embrace to show that she'd already forgiven him, because she knew that he was dying inside.

* * *

  
Kurtis stared up at the ceiling as the time neared to two a.m., trying not to move so he wouldn't awaken Lara. _I can't believe I acted that way, _he thought. He'd never ever expected himself to lash out at Lara in such a way. Then again, he'd not expected her to be so persistent in getting a response from him about Lemuria. _That's the last thing I want to talk about,_ he thought. Of course, he knew it was eating him up. He couldn't very well hold it in much longer – who knew what would happen next time?

Kurtis turned his head to the side to look over at Lara's sleeping body. She was so beautiful. How she put up with him, he would never know – but she loved him. She hadn't stopped loving him, not even after twelve years, and after claiming to have given up on him. And here he was, threatening her both physically and mentally. The mere thought made him sick to his stomach – the last thing he would ever do would be to hurt Lara.

Lara stirred, rolling over on her side to where she faced him. She drew in a silent breath as a few stray tendrils of hair fell over her closed eyes. Kurtis watched her, wishing he could tell her everything that was going on. Where to start, though?

Then, as if his thoughts had been projected vocally, Lara's eyes slowly flickered open. She met his gaze, connecting with him as though she'd never been asleep. He drew in a silent breath, reaching his hand up towards her face. He ran his fingers over her cheek, then traced the plump, moist features of her lips. "Are you alright?" she asked him softly.

He drew in a deep breath, dropping his gaze from her eyes. Then, he sat up, dropping his feet over the edge of the bed and running his fingers through his hair. He clasped his hands together, leaning his weight on his elbows as he leaned over the bed. "I wanted to die in there," he said quietly. Lara sat up in the bed, ready to listen to every word he spoke. Kurtis stared down at the ground, faced away from the truth. "Everywhere I turned, I saw what I wanted, but it wasn't real. Karel was taunting me with it – with all of it. My father, my family, the brothers, you…"

Lara shuddered a bit at the thought – Karel was a sadistic bastard, and he didn't care about who he hurt. More so, she began to feel Kurtis's pain. "I don't think I ever slept. The entire thing was like a really long nightmare that I just had to keep fighting off." He drew in a silent breath. "I tried for so long to reach one of the brothers, but none of them responded. Finally, I called to Kyran, and it must've worked. He relayed the message to Garin, and Garin left to Maldives to find me. After twelve goddamn years, the portal finally opened."

Lara kept her solemn gaze on Kurtis as he still sat facing away from her. She didn't have to see into his eyes to know his pain. Finally, he drew in a deep breath. "The _only_ thing that kept me going was you. You were the only thing that I saw in Lemuria that I knew was real, that existed beyond that hell I was trapped in."

"And here we are," Lara replied softly. "We're both real, yet for some reason, you're still afraid."

Lara let the comment sink on him for a moment. Then, she sighed quietly, leaning forward. She gripped both of his bare arms, kissing the soft flesh along his shoulder. Then, she leaned her mouth towards his ear. "I'm not going anywhere," she said softly, kissing his neck. "And you'd better not either." He sighed quietly, as if relieved to hear her say that. Then, he turned to look at her as she offered a subtle smile of solace. He pulled her face towards his, brushing his lips against hers, and finally kissed her full on the mouth.

Lara held her gaze with him for a moment, then leaned over him, pushing him down on the bed. It was her turn to show him what love was like – rather, to remind him of what it was like. She leaned over him, her full weight atop his body, trailing kisses down his neck and his chest. She was acutely aware of every piece of flesh that his fingertips reached for, savoring every part of him as though it were the last time she would. She felt him reach his hands up near her shoulder blades, gently slipping the tank top off of her body, and gripping her by the hips to pull her towards him. Lara straddled him, staring passionately into his eyes as she felt his hands trace up her legs. She positioned herself over his body and then lowered herself onto him, reveling in the feelings of pleasure she'd longed for for twelve years.

Oh yes, she would remind him of what love was like, and she would do it all night if it took just that.

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**Well, there ya have it. Kurty is finally going to stop being so pissy now that he's...getting healthy. Ahem. See you guys on Monday!**


	15. In Ireland

**Well, I guess we're all glad that Lara and Kurtis worked out their little domestic problems, aren't we? Onto the next chappie!**

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**"Lara, it's so good to see you," Father Patrick said with a friendly smile as he opened the door to his three guests. Lara dropped the bags at her feet and reached forward to hug the man she'd not seen since she was just a bit older than Emily's age. He was certainly aging – she recalled the time on the Black Isle when she'd seen his hair turn white because of the ghostly apparitions and what not. Now apparently they didn't need to bother. Despite the subtle wrinkles and pale hair color, he seemed to not have changed much at all.

"How have you been, Father?" she asked, pulling out of his embrace. "I've missed you quite so."

"As well as can be expected," he said. "Though I'm not sure that's a good thing. It's been quite uneventful in the past – what's it been? – twenty or so years."

"Perhaps for you," she said, with a grin. "I can't speak the same for myself."

"And I should expect no less," he chuckled. His gaze fell upon the people standing behind Lara: a man he'd never seen before and a young girl. "And are these your friends?"

"Yes," Lara said. "This is Kurtis…" Her…husband? Her boyfriend? Her fiancé? She wasn't even sure as to how to introduce him, so she pretended to passively overlook it. Then, she turned to Emily. "And this is Emily, my…" She paused, taking a split-second glance in Kurtis's direction. "_Our_ daughter."

"A daughter?" he asked, a bit shocked. "I hardly took you for the motherly type."

"And so did I," she agreed with a grin, "but I can't complain."

Patrick chuckled a bit, his eyes falling upon the young girl. "Well, there's no need for all of you to stand outside in the cold. Come in."

He held the door open, and all three of his guests entered into his cottage home. Patrick gestured for them to seat themselves on the couch, and both Lara and Kurtis did so. Emily, however, bounded towards the back door to gaze out over the scenic view of the vast cliffside beyond. Patrick chuckled, turning back to Lara. "She seems to be just like her mother."

Lara nodded in agreement. "That's what I'm afraid of."

"So what brings you to Ireland?" he asked.

"We're looking for a legendary sword that belongs to a Lux Veritatis knight," Lara said.

"And I take it this adventure will lead you to confrontation?" he asked, noticing both hers and Kurtis's weapons.

"Unfortunately, that's how it seems to be these days," she said. She glanced up at Emily, sighing. "Which is…which is why I must ask that, if it's not too much trouble, we leave Emma here with you."

Emily turned around quickly to face her mother, shocked and angry at the same time. "What?" she demanded. "You're leaving me behind _again_?"

"For your protection, Emma," Lara assured her.

"Like last time, right?" she argued. "Remember what happened last time? _I _was almost kidnapped, and Garin was…"

She caught her accusation in her throat before she voiced it. Then, she turned away, heading out the back door of Patrick's home to go sit on the rocks along the creek bed in the 'backyard'. Lara sighed quietly to herself. "That could've been better," she muttered.

"She'll be fine here," Patrick assured her. "Don't worry about her."

"It's not that I doubt you or her," Lara said, "it's just that Karel is a dangerous man, and he'll do what he needs to get what he wants. And right now, for whatever reason, he wants her."

"Just focus on what you do best, Lara," Patrick told her. "Go and recover this artifact, and when you return, Emily will be safely waiting for you." He let his comment sink in on her, then drew in a silent breath. "So where is this fabled sword?"

"In Dundermot Mound," Lara responded.

"Ah, one of the two gateways to hell," Father chuckled. "How's that for irony?"

"Nothing to worry about," Lara said simply. "I've seen worse."

"Yes, you have had your fair share of 'hauntings' in your time," he chuckled. He sighed, rising to his feet. "Well, then, I'll just go arrange a room for Emily."

Lara and Kurtis rose to their feet. "Thank you, Father," Lara said gratefully. "We really appreciate it."

"Of course," he said politely. He turned down the hall and into one of the empty guest rooms. Lara sighed, looking out the window at her daughter, who sat with her back to Lara's vision as if to ward her away. "I knew that wouldn't go over so well," she muttered.

Kurtis sighed. "I'll talk to her," he said.

Lara faced him. "Are you sure?"

"She's my daughter, too," he reminded her. "It might be easier, hearing it from someone else."

Lara slowly nodded. "Of course," she said softly. "Then I suppose I'll load up the chopper."

"I'll meet you outside," he said, reaching up his hand to stroke her cheek. Then, he turned away, heading out the back door to find Emily.

Kurtis opened the back door to step into the cool Ireland weather. A storm was well on its way, likely within an hour or so, and he felt a small droplet of rain come down from the sky. He drew in a silent breath, then headed over towards Emily, who was seated on the rock with a small branch in her hand, picking the leaves off and throwing them into the creek bed. "It's starting to rain," he said.

She threw another leaf into the stream. "Oh, well," she said.

"Are you planning to stay out here all day?" he asked casually.

"Maybe," she said, tossing the whole twig into the water. "Like what those protestors do?" she asked. "If it works, then why not?"

Kurtis chuckled, leaning over the rock. "It's not going to work," he assured her.

"Well, I can test it out," she said firmly.

"It's for your safety, Emily," he said.

She shook her head negatively. "No, it's not. It's for _Mom's _safety. At least that's what she would call it. Obviously I'm not safe anywhere. If Karel wants me, he'll get me."

Kurtis knew she was right – she held a solid argument. Then, a thought struck him. "Why did Karel leave without you? You didn't tell me what happened exactly."

Emily drew in a silent, deep breath, pulling her knees to her chest. She dropped her chin to her arms, staring forward at the creek. "I'm not sure, actually," she said softly. "Karel…Karel was trying to kidnap me, but I used my lighter to fight him off. Then, Garin…" She drew in another breath. "Garin was trying to protect me…he aimed some weird gun at Karel, and when he shot him with it, he started _changing…_"

"Changing?" Kurtis asked with confusion.

"Yeah," she said. "Like…like one second he looked like himself, and the next he was someone else."

"Shape-shifting," Kurtis told her. "He's Nephilim. That's one of their many talents."

"After he stopped changing, he just kind of…disappeared." Kurtis sighed, wishing he would've know all of this sooner so he could've taken the gun to see just what Emily was talking about. Emily looked up at him. "Why did he do that?"

"I don't know," Kurtis admitted. "Garin might've designed the gun specifically for the case that Karel would come around. Good thing he did that."

Emily gazed back out at the stream. "What is Lemuria?"

Kurtis pushed himself off from leaning over the rock, folding his arms over his chest. "It's…it's a mystical place where psychics go."

Emily looked back up at him. "Could I go there?"

"You _can_," he said. "But trust me – you don't want to."

"Why did Garin say he'd see you there, then?"

"I'm not sure," he said.

"So you're going to find out? You're going there, to Lemuria?"

"I don't know, Em," he said, sighing. She could tell he was growing irritable over the questions, so she stopped, looking back out over the cliffside. Then, she looked up at him, her face bright with surprise. "Hey, you called me Em!" she said.

He gazed down at her, shrugging simply. "And?"

"No one else calls me that," she said.

Kurtis chuckled a bit. "Alright," he said. "It's your new name, then."

Emily grinned. "I like it."

He placed a soft hand on her shoulder. "You'll be alright here," he said. "We've got to get going."

Emily pouted, dropping her head back down. "Fine," she muttered. "But if you…_die…_"

"You'll never forgive us," he finished. "I know."

"Got that right," she finished.

Kurtis turned away, heading towards the house. "You'll be fine," he repeated. "We'll see you tomorrow night…or the next day."

Emily glanced back to see Kurtis walking towards the house without a backwards glance. She watched until he went through the door and disappeared from her sight. Then, she sighed, turning back towards the creek. A subtle smile crossed her lips. "Em," she repeated. It was the first time Kurtis had shown any inclination towards his "father nature". Something so subtle made her so happy. She was probably the only kid she knew of her age without a father, and to hear him actually react like, well, a father, she was elated. In a quick instant, she'd gone from disappointed and angry to happy and surprised.

* * *

  
Later that evening, Emily stared out the window as the lightning bolts reached across the Ireland sky. She fiddled her hands in her lap, staring out into the night sky. Her parents had flown out almost two hours ago, and she hoped they'd arrived safely. She had no contact with them – Zip and Alister were still in the hotel, and Emily regretted not nagging that they come along with her.

Emily startled at the thunder roll, too lost in her thoughts to notice the weather. She sighed, glancing up at the clock – it was just after eight o'clock p.m. Kurtis had said that they'd be back tomorrow – or the next day. _Not so promising,_ Emily though unhappily. She drew in a deep breath, hugging the pillow to her chest and tucking her legs up. She heard someone coming down the hall and looked up to see Father Patrick coming down the hallway. "Are you doing alright?" he asked.

"I'm fine," she replied quietly. "Do you…do you think that my parents are okay?"

He set a cup of steaming tea on the small table before her, then seated himself at the table. "They're fine," he said calmly. "Your parents are indestructible."

"Yeah, but you can only get lucky so many times…"

"What's that they say about luck?" he said, grinning.

Emily glanced up at him, grinning after a moment. "Cheating the devil…?"

Father Patrick chuckled. "Lara's been doing that since she was your age."

"Really?" Emily perked up, reaching for her cup of tea. "She's never told me anything about all of this. How do you even know her?"

"She stowed away on my barge when she was sixteen," he explained. "I was heading for the Black Isle to fight off some apparitions of my own, and she decided to tag along."

Emily giggled a little. "Sounds like my mother," she commented. "But…this isn't an apparition. It's real. It's a man named Karel, and he wants to kill my parents, and kidnap me."

"So I've heard," he said. "Knowing your mother though, she'll take care of him."

"Yeah…" Emily said quietly. "Where exactly did they go?"

"To the Dundermot Mound near Glarryford," he said. He rose from the table, taking his cup of tea to the kitchen. "They should be back later tomorrow. There's nothing to worry about, Emily."

She heard him turn on the kitchen sink. Emily gazed out the window, thinking things over for a moment. _Stowed away on a barge,_ she thought. Then, she looked up at Patrick from where she sat. "How far is Glarryford from here, anyway?"

"Well, we're here in Maghery," he said, washing his dishes in the sink. "I'd say about thirty miles, across the Lough Neagh."

"So it's not that far," she thought, trying to sound more hopeful than suspicious. "At least they're still pretty close."

"Yes, at least," he agreed, switching off the sink faucet. Then, he entered the dining room, sighing with exhaust. "Well, Emily, I think I'm going to retire to bed early tonight. If there's anything you need, help yourself to it."

"Thank you, Father," she said.

He turned away with a soft smile, heading towards his bedroom down the back hall. _If Glarryford is only thirty miles across the lake, then I'm leaving,_ Emily thought. She glanced down the hallway, waiting until she heard Father Patrick shut his door. Then, she rose from where she sat, approaching the window on the opposite side. From where she stood, she could see several boats docking and departing to and from the harbor. _That's my ticket out of here,_ she thought.

Emily quietly retrieved her bag from the couch, then turned back towards the back door. She'd never run away before, nor had she ever left her home without permission. _This isn't my home,_ she rationalized. Then, she turned the handle and opened the door as quietly as she could manage.

It was raining quite hard, and she almost considered turning back and going to bed. _No way!_ she argued with herself. She'd already taken one step out – she might as well go the rest of the way. Emily pulled the hood of her sweater over her head, then trudged down the muddy path towards the dock at the end of the walk. She ducked behind the small boathouse, watching as the boat captains moved about, shouting to each other over the storm.

"Where's this one headed?" one man shouted as the thunder clapped.

"That one's heading towards The Diamond," one of the men said, pointing at the dingy white boat to the right. Then, he turned to the left. "And that one's going to Newport Trench."

The other captain looked down at his clipboard, then back up at his comrade. "Anything heading north?"

"That one's heading toward Staffordstown," he said, pointing to the blue boat in the distance.

Emily hadn't ever been a good student at geography, but she recognized the name of Staffordstown, and she knew that Glarryford was just ten miles north from there by land. She could probably catch a ride there.

Emily snuck around the side, heading towards the blue barge in the distance. When the men were looking away, she quickly bolted across the deck, heading for the boat in the distance. She jumped across the small ramp and then ducked under a tarp, finding herself tangled in a mess of ropes. She covered her head with the tarp, being careful not to be seen. Then, she heard one of the men coming up the ramp. "We're heading out now!" he shouted to someone in the distance.

Emily felt the boat begin to shake as it pulled out of the harbor, and she clung tightly to her backpack, tucked under her arms. She drew in a silent breath, feeling the metal of the lighter in her pocket. For a split instant, she was afraid – once the boat pulled away, it was all or nothing. She could only pray that she made it to Glarryford safely, and then found this Dundermot place to reach her parents. _I'll teach them to leave me alone again,_ she thought.

* * *

  
**Well, we are nearing the end of part three soon...but I will see you guys again on Friday...now that school is starting again, I will have no life =P**


	16. The Hall of Lumen

**Back yet again. Read on folks, only two chapters left after this!**

* * *

  
Lara sighed, placing her hands on her hips as she looked up to the small patch of tall trees set atop the dirt mound. _This is the legendary Dundermot Mound?_ she thought humorously. So where was the cabbie that would ask about the Glarryford Bridge?

"This is spectacular," Kurtis said with sarcasm.

"Now how do we get in?" Lara asked, heading towards the mound in the distance. Kurtis followed after her, the cool air blowing past them as the moon illuminated the night sky. The mound literally was nothing more than a pile of dirt and trees. Lara folded her arms over her chest, puzzled. "Alister, what exactly are we looking for?"

"Well, in case you've forgotten, Dundermot Mound was also called the Dundermot Fort…"

"A barracks used in wartime, yes," Lara said. "But how does that help?"

"Assuming that it's either a) a portal to hell, or b) an old barracks, you'll have to get inside it either way. Once you're in, you'll be looking for the Hall of Lumen. The sword is hidden in there."

"Yes, but that doesn't help us in this current predicament," she argued. "There's no entrance."

"So make one!" Alister said. "It's never been a problem before."

Lara sighed, irritated with Alister's lack of help. "Any satellite feeds of the area?"

"None," Zip chipped in. "The place is a mystery. The satellite feeds show it as nothing more than an old pile of dirt and trees. Nothing underground, nothing anywhere."

"Mystics often berate logic," Lara reminded them. "We'll figure something out."

Lara turned to speak to Kurtis, but found him gone. She glanced about for a bit, calling his name. Then, she heard him off in the distance to the right. She followed his voice, finding him crouched down near a small groove hidden on the side of one of the stones. "Look familiar?" he asked.

Lara pondered over the shape in the rock for a moment, then brightened up. She removed the Lux disk from her knapsack, holding the illuminated, gold object up in their vision. "I have to admit – Siamak was quite brilliant." She handed the disk over to Kurtis, and he placed it into the groove of the stone. He stepped back, waiting for a moment. Then, the mound of dirt began to shake violently. Lara and Kurtis fought to hold onto their footing as the earth before them seemed to split in half. Lara took a cautious step backwards, watching as the seemingly endless depth of the hole continue to open before her. After several moments, it stopped.

"So I see you found your way inside, then," Alister said over the comm-set.

"And where do we go from here?" Lara asked. "You said the Hall of Lumen?"

"Yes," Alister replied. "Do you remember the Hall of Seasons and the Tomb of Ancients in France?" he asked, reminding her of her adventures back in Paris while hunting for the Obscura Painting.

"How could I forget?" she asked irritably.

"Well, supposedly, this place is quite similar, at least in environmental texture, anyway."

"And where is the sword?" Lara asked.

"Somewhere in the Hall of Lumen," Alister said.

"As if that wasn't obvious," she said with annoyance. "We'll figure it out, no thanks to you." She drew in a deep breath. "Well, through the mystic portal to the underworld, we go." She bent down and retrieved the Lux disk. Then, she and Kurtis set foot forward into the dark depths of the descending stairwell, heading into hell with each step they took.

* * *

  
_One hour before_

"Hey, you," a gruff voice said. "Wake up." Emily felt a soft nudge against her ribs and opened her eyes up to see a tall, stocky man with a mangled beard standing over her, prodding her in the side with his boots. She rubbed her eyes, sitting up. "What the hell are you doing on my boat?" he demanded.

Emily glanced around, then looked up at the man. "I-I'm sorry," she muttered. "I'm trying to get to Glarryford."

"Glarryford?" the man asked, puzzled. "Nothing there but some cottages and trees." Emily slowly rose to her feet, still weary from the small nap she'd taken after stowing away on the boat. "You need to get off my barge," he said. "Stowaways aren't treated nicely around here. Since you're a kid, though, I suppose a quick warning will be enough."

"I'm sorry," she said again. "I heard you were heading north. Are we in Staffordstown?"

"We are," he said, scooping up the ropes that she'd been sleeping on. "Glarryford is about twenty minutes north of here by car."

"Car?" Emily asked, glancing around. "I don't see any cars."

"Coach, cabbie, same damn thing. Staffordstown isn't so popular," he muttered. "Now, I thought I told you to get off my boat?"

Emily sighed. "Alright, I'm going," she muttered. "Which direction do I take to get there?"

He eyed her suspiciously as he continued to wrap the rope into a coil. "Why are you heading towards old Glarryford anyway?"

"I'm looking for my parents," she said. "They went to Dundermot Mound."

The man laughed heartily. "No one goes to Dundermot Mound. Don't you know? The place is haunted."

"So I've heard," Emily humored him. "But that's where they are. They're…" What could she tell him about her parents without sounding too suspicious? "They're photographers from London. They're adding the photos to their collection to sell once they get back to the United Kingdom. I was staying with a friend in Maghery, but I wanted to find them. I suppose I should've asked before getting on the boat though…"

The man stood up fully, sighing with exhaustion as he gazed over the young girl before him. She held eye contact with him, hoping she'd sounded earnest enough to get him under her thumb. Then, he slung the rope over his shoulder. "Tell you what, kid," he said. "I'll arrange a ride for you into Glarryford. A pal of mine is heading north into Derry. I'll have him drop you at Ballymena. It's a five minute walk to Glarryford from there."

"And to Dundermot Mound?" she asked.

"Right at the heart of Glarryford," he said. "It's nothing but a big pile of dirt and trees. I guarantee your cabbie won't get close enough to the damned hell-hole, so you'll have to make it there yourself."

"No problem," Emily said. "I appreciate the help."

"Just don't let me catch you here on my boat again," he warned. "And I guarantee no other fishermen would be as kind to you as I was, so you'd be wise not to get on anyone else's boat either."

"I won't," she promised him. "Thank you."

"Catch a ride in the old jeep over there," he said, pointing to a small land jeep in the distance where a man was loading crates into the back. "Tell the driver that Phil is sending you into Ballymena to pick up a load."

"Phil," Emily repeated. "Okay, I will. Thanks again, mister."

Emily drew in a deep breath, pulling her backpack taught against her back. She'd had no idea that stowing away on someone's boat would've been such a big deal, but she was grateful to have learned the lesson the easy way. She glanced up at the sky, grateful it had stopped raining. It must've been just near ten o'clock or so. She couldn't have been gone that long…

Emily approached the tall man loading crates into the jeep. He stopped, looking her up and down with irritation, then leaned against the jeep, pushing another box into the back. "Whatcha want, kid? A job?" he asked with a heavy Irish accent.

"No," she shook her head. "Phil is sending me into Ballymena to pick up a load," she said.

"Phil?" he asked. "So you _are_ on a job, then. You're a little bit too young to be out pickin' up a load, ain't you?"

"Internal, not external," she challenged, although she had absolutely no idea what 'picking up a load' meant.

He chuckled a bit, running his fingers through the brown locks of his forehead. "Ay, then. Climb into the seat. You'll have to hold onto a box on the way out, though. Not enough room in the back."

Emily pulled herself into the passenger seat as the man seated himself into the driver's seat. He hauled the box over himself and onto her lap, dropping it with a thud. Emily groaned, shuffling the wooden crate on her lap. "It's a little heavy…"

He turned the engine over, grinning at her. "You said you'd manage?"

Emily challenged him with her own grin. "Did I say heavy? I meant, 'that's nothing!'" Although of course, she could feel the wooden edges digging into her legs.

"Alright then," he finished. He shifted the jeep into first gear and rattled down the muddy road. Emily could feel bits of mud splashing about on her bare legs and face. _Why didn't I put jeans on?_ she thought. _At least I was smart enough to put on my hiking boots…_"So how far is Dundermot Mound from where you're dropping me off?"

The man glanced suspiciously at her. "About a half-mile walk out. Why do you ask?"

"Just curious," she said. "I'd like to check it out while I…wait for my next ride after picking up the load," she said slowly, trying not to give off unwanted attention.

"Something wrong with your pretty little head?" he asked. "No one goes near Dundermot Mound except tourists, though I'd assume that's what you are, you Yank."

"I'm from London, actually," she said with irritation. "I just…don't have an accent. And what does that matter? Just because I'm not afraid of some 'ghostly cabbie' doesn't imply that I'm a tourist. I don't believe in superstition."

"On your head, be it, then," he said with a shrug. "And I'd assume that means you're not really on a load pick-up, then?"

Emily glanced up at him slowly. "No, I am," she lied.

"So you came all the way from London to go pick up a crate full of herbal spices in the Ballymena pharmacy?" he asked. "I guess that's fine and dandy, if you get bored touring Parliament and the Tower of London and all that jazz."

Emily sighed with defeat. "No, I'm not picking up a load. I don't even know what that means. My parents are out by Dundermot Mound doing some photography shoot. I'm not supposed to be here, but I'm trying to meet up with them."

"I'll take you as close to Dundermot as I can without getting close to that damned cabbie," he said, "but I'm not going any closer than that, you hear?"

"I appreciate it," Emily said. "Though I doubt there's anything to worry about."

"Well, let me know how it goes _after_ you've been asked if the bridge is still up." He turned the jeep down another muddy road to the right. "Course, you'll still have a year to live after that, but once the year's up…" He made a severing motion across his throat, indicating she'd be dead.

"You really believe all of this, don't you?" she asked, amused.

"Damn straight," he said. "I've had my fair share of ghostly encounters. Can't risk anymore."

"Right," Emily muttered. The man pulled the jeep up along a small embankment smothered with knee-length grass, enveloped in trees. "This is as close as I get," he said. "Dundermot Mound is just up beyond in that valley up there," he said, pointing past the trees. "Hope all goes well."

Emily pushed the heavy box over to the driver, sighing. "Thanks for the ride," she said. She opened the door of the jeep and stepped out. Almost immediately, the driver took off. She shook her head with a sigh. _He's blowing this out of proportion._ Emily trekked up the steep embankment until she saw the vast green valley lying ahead. The starry sky sparkled above as a howling wind brushed past her. She shuddered, glancing around as if expecting a coach driver to drive by. _Maybe I should've just stayed with Father Patrick in Maghery,_ she thought. Then, she shook her head. She was this close. _This_ close!

Emily drew in brave, deep breath, then moved forward in the direction of the mound of trees in the distance.

* * *

  
Lara activated her LED, descending the stairwell into the depths of Dundermot Mound with Kurtis at her side. "Scared yet?" he teased.

"Please," she begged. "Nothing scares me. I've seen it all."

Up ahead, they could see a faint glow from a light. Kurtis removed his gun, holding it low to his side for precaution. Lara's hand fell faintly upon the grip of her own pistol, but she moved forward. As the light grew brighter, they were able to see the large stone bridge that they stood on. Down below, there was a deep pool of water. The bridge had two paths that separated from it. Lara sighed. "Where to now?"

Kurtis glanced down at the water uneasily. "Not down there," he said.

"Alister, we've reached some sort of fork in the path," she said over the comm-set.

"Well, tally ho, gents," he said amusingly. "I couldn't say left or right…?"

"As if there are so many options," Lara said.

"The sword is divided into two pieces, just like the shield," he continued speculatively. "My guess is that one piece will be down one way, and the other down another way."

"It can never be simple," Lara sighed. "Right, then. We'll find our way out."

Suddenly, they heard a scuffle behind them. Lara and Kurtis simultaneously removed their weapons and spun on their heels, pointing into the darkness lying before them. "Don't shoot!" a girlish voice called. Lara lowered her gun for a moment, puzzled. Then, she sighed with frustration. "Emily, if that's you…"

Emily stepped out of the shadows into plain sight, a cautious look over her face. "Hey, guys," she said nervously.

"_What_ are you doing here?" Lara demanded.

Emily timidly walked forward. "I wanted to be with you guys," she said.

"I have half-a-mind to slap you," Lara said irritably.

"Oh, come on, Mom!" Emily begged. "You didn't think for one second that I'd get sick of being dropped off all over the place and consider running away?"

"Lara, Father Patrick just put in a call," Alister chipped in quickly. "He says that Emily is missing."

"No, she's not," Lara argued, glaring at her daughter. "She's here with us. Tell him I'm dreadfully sorry for the panic she caused."

"Right," Alister said slowly. "Will do, then."

"How did you even get here?" Kurtis asked.

"I stowed away on some boat and hitched a ride here," she said quietly.

"Do you know how utterly _stupid _that is?" Lara asked. "Some sailors aren't as merciful as the one who found you apparently was – quite often they'll shoot stowaways, or even do other things…" She didn't want to think about what a group of old, dirty men would have done to her young teenage daughter.

"I'm _sorry_," Emily said. "But I wanted to be with you."

"You're causing a lot of problems, Emily," Lara warned.

"I can help you find the sword," Emily said. "At least, I can try."

"You'll slow us down," Lara said. "Do you know how hard it will be to have to keep our eyes out for you constantly?" Emily lowered her head, hurt by her mother's accusation. Lara sighed, rubbing her forehead. "I'm sorry," she muttered. "You have to understand where I'm coming from, though, Emily."

"Yeah," Emily said quietly. "I'm just extra weight, right?"

Lara sighed. "Emma –"

"I'll just…I'll just go wait outside, then," she said, turning.

"No, stay here," Kurtis interrupted. "You'll go with me."

"Ah, another brilliant idea," Lara said irritably.

"She's safer under my care," he said. "I'm psychic, too. It'll be harder for anyone to hurt her."

Lara glared into his eyes. "If that's how you feel, then, I hope the two of you find your piece of the sword with ease, since apparently you're so much more of a capable parent than I am."

Kurtis sighed. "Lara, don't act like this…"

"We'll rendezvous later," Lara said. "Be careful, you two."

Lara eyed Emily quickly, then turned on her heel, heading through the left hallway and out of their sight.

* * *

  
**Aaaaaand...there ya have it. Catch y'all on Monday! =D**


	17. The Sleepless Knights

**One chapter left after this!!**

**

* * *

  
**Lara had a heavy heart as she trudged forward through the Hall of Lumen. She had been angry that Emily had run away, of course, but more upset that Kurtis had said she would be "safer" with him. Of course Lara knew what he meant, and she'd only inferred something else, but it still hurt to hear it.

Kurtis _was_ more capable of taking care of their daughter because he had his telepathy and telekinesis and what not – it was just the fact of truth. If Emily were left in Lara's care and Karel managed to track them down, the only defense she'd have would be her weapons and, of course, her witty mind. The simple fact, though, was that neither of those could fend off immortal enemies like Karel. At least if Emily were with Kurtis, she'd stand a chance. Lara simply hated the fact that she was so, well, dispensable.

She sighed in frustration, stopping at the fork in the path. Down the left, it looked like there was nothing more than a pile of collapsed rocks. The other end was dark and eerie. _That must be the way then,_ she thought with a sigh. _It always seems to be the worst end._ Lara stepped forward, heading deeper into the hallway, activating her LED light once again. The walls were lined with ornate patterns and markings. The lanterns posted in various places along the walls flickered against the panels, glossing the texture.

Lara was having a difficult time with focusing on where she was supposed to go when she was preoccupied with thoughts of Kurtis and Emily. She wasn't quite sure, but she felt like something bad was heading this way. Could Karel find them here? _Of course he can,_ she rationalized. He could find them anywhere, anytime, with ease, and then take their lives, or take whatever the hell he wanted.

She groaned with frustration as she reached the end of the hallway. There was nothing more than a solid wall with more ornate drawings. Lara moved her hand along the seams of the crevices in the wall. She sighed deeply, leaning her forehead against the cold stone. _I've never had this problem before,_ she thought. She was usually able to recognize a puzzle or trap at the drop of a hat. Here, she couldn't even focus.

"Are you alright, Lara?" Alister asked.

"Fine," she said quickly. "This wall has some interesting patterns. I'm not sure how to open it, though."

"Um…" he said slowly. "Check the panel on the floor."

Lara could tell by the tone of his voice that it was something she herself should've noticed. She glanced down at the diamond-shaped pattern on the ground. _How could I have missed that? _she thought. She stepped onto the panel, activating the pressure plate. The door began to open outwardly, leading her into a dimly-lit corridor. "Well, then," she breathed. Lara stepped down the hall, turning off her LED. She entered into the next room, standing before the giant center column that she knew she would have to traverse. "And I'd bet my life on it that the sword fragment is at the top," she said.

"Where else would it be?" Alister countered. Lara drew in a deep breath, trekking forward. She gripped the lowest platform and pulled herself up, heading towards the peak of the layered platforms. "Please don't look down," Alister begged.

"Haven't we been through this before, Alister?" Lara asked with amusement. "All will be well, so long as you stay quiet." She continued moving forward until she reached the top. The panel she stood on was branded with more intricate patterns. From the ceiling, there was a small molded vertical column, and the sword fragment floated in the orange orb of energy below it. "It's beautiful," Lara said. "And it's mine." She reached forward, removing the artifact from the energy. She stared down at it with a grin. "That wasn't so difficult."

Suddenly, the platform began to quiver, and she felt it descending back to the ground. "Saves you the trip back down," Alister told her.

Lara touched the grip of her pistols. "That doesn't mean we shan't stay on our toes," she said carefully. The platform reached the ground, and Lara glanced about, waiting for something to come out. Then, she heard an explosion behind her. One of the tall pillars in the back corner erupted. Lara removed her pistols from her holsters, holding them low with wariness. The dust settled around the column, and nothing happened. Lara tucked the sword fragment into her backpack. She cautiously stepped towards the column. There was nothing around, nothing to be seen inside the pillar except darkness. She stepped closer…

And then, Lara dove out of the way as a sword protruded from the darkness. She lifted her pistols in time to see a walking corpse holding a shield and a sword in each hand. The five other columns around the room began to erupt as well, revealing more of the skeletal bodies holding their weaponry.

"That doesn't look so good…" Alister chipped in.

Lara glimpsed the markings on the shield. "Lux Veritatis knights," Lara speculated. "They must be here to guard the sword fragment."

"And I'd guess they're immortal?" Alister said rhetorically.

"That's going to be a bit of a problem, then," Lara said, raising her guns to the skeletons walking her way. She began to wish she'd never split up with Kurtis in the first place. He might be the only one with an idea as to how to stop these walking corpses. "Perhaps Dundermot Mound really is the gateway to hell." She opened fire on the skeleton, and it began to stagger backwards. Once the magazine was empty, it looked up at her, and though it had no facial features, she could tell it was angry. It raised the sword in the air, and Lara quickly dived out of the way – into the path of the next enemy.

Lara began to panic, thinking of how she could get away from these guardians. Then, she remembered the pool of water down the hallway. She holstered her weapons, and did her best to evade the swinging blades of the guardians. Once she made her way to the exit, they began to follow her, grunting with anger and raising their swords in defense. Lara bolted down the hallway until she reached the split path, hovering over the pool of water below. She stood, braced, waiting for the knights to come down the hall. When she heard them coming her way, she backed further down the hall, keeping her gaze on the hallway they would be coming from. When she saw them emerge, she removed her pistols again, and opened fire on them until they staggered backwards into the water.

Lara breathed relief until the final enemy fell below. She held her guns close to her, as if waiting for another surprise. Suddenly, Lara heard something behind her. She gripped her pistols and turned quickly on her heel, lifting her weapons to eye level. Lara ducked into the corridor she'd come from, watching as mercenaries entered into the hallway. _This doesn't look good,_ she thought. She felt anxiety settling in her stomach as more and more began to file in, and when they turned towards the hallway that Emily and Kurtis had gone down, she knew she would need to do something.

Lara was prepared to follow after them – until she heard the groaning cries of the skeletal guards down below. She glanced down to see them scaling the walls, heading back up towards the hallway platforms. Lara backed away, knowing that either she fight the undead knights or risk being shot by the mercenaries in the hall.

* * *

  
Emily trudged along after Kurtis. She didn't want anyone to know it, but she was starting to regret coming to Dundermot. The halls they trekked through were eerie and dark, as if what waited at the end would be death. Emily drew in a silent deep breath, drawing closer to Kurtis as she looked around. Then, he stopped, causing her to bump into him with a soft '_oof_'' as she did so. He turned around, gazing down at her with a quizzical look. "Preoccupied?" he asked.

"No," she said nervously. "I was just looking around."

"Wishing you'd stayed in Maghery?" he asked.

"Of course not," she said. "Let's keep going."

Emily started forward, but Kurtis gripped her by the shoulder, stopping her. "_I_ will take the lead," he said. "_You_ will stay back and be careful."

Kurtis stepped forward as Emily sighed. "_So_rry," she said, rolling her eyes. She followed after him, gazing up at the large room before them. The floor had a large circular hole in it with a long descending stairwell of variously-shaped platforms. "Do we have to go down there?" Emily asked.

"I do," he said. "You're going to stay up here."

"Let me guess…" Emily said, folding her arms over chest. "It's 'safer' up here, right?"

"Exactly," he said with a grin.

"How bad could it be?" Emily asked, peering over the edge. "It's just a big stairwell…thing."

"These places are littered with surprises," he said. "Just wait right here."

Kurtis pulled himself into the platform, descending deeper and deeper into the depths of the stairwell. Down at the bottom, he could see a faint orange flicker. He continued down until he reached the bottom. There was a small nook in one of the platforms that Kurtis had to reach deep into. When he pulled his arm out, he removed a piece of the sword fragment, glowing with the orange aura. He held it up to examine, grinning at his small accomplishment. Then, the ground began to shake. He glanced about as the platforms began to rise. He looked up as Emily backed away from the platforms. After a moment, he returned to level with her. "Did you find something?" she asked.

He held the sword fragment up by the hilt. "Piece of cake," he said. He handed it to Emily so she could examine it herself, watching as she eyed the prize like a kid in a candy shop. "You think Mom found the other piece yet?" she asked.

"No doubt," Kurtis said.

"Then let's get back to her," Emily urged. "I'd hate for her to be mad at me for a second longer."

Kurtis chuckled a bit, unsure if she was being serious or if she was making a joke. Emily handed the piece back to him. Then, they heard an explosion in the distance. Kurtis reached for the grip of his pistol, and Emily jerked her head in the direction of the noise. They looked up to see a skeletal knight coming from the hole he'd made in one of the columns of the room. Emily backed away fearfully, hiding behind Kurtis. "W-What is that?"

Kurtis removed his pistol and held it low to his side. "It must be one of the Sleepless Knights," he said.

"A what?" she asked.

"Undead Lux Veritatis warriors," he said. "He's probably here to guard the sword."

"Then if he's Lux Veritatis, he should be friendly, right?" she asked nervously.

"It doesn't look that way," he replied. He pushed her back a bit, shielding her with his body. "Stay back. I'll handle him."

Emily backed away towards the wall, watching fearfully as the skeletal knight came closer. Kurtis aimed his weapon at the mummy and began firing, doing nothing but weakening the enemy. Kurtis holstered his weapon, then reached his arm forward, sending a surge of psychic energy towards the skeleton. He flew backwards and into the wall, collapsing to the floor. "That should hold him down for now," Kurtis said quickly.

Then, he heard another explosion from behind, followed by Emily's panicked gasp. She backed away into Kurtis as another knight broke through the wall behind them. Several others began to emerge from the other various pillars, each bearing a shield and sword. "What do we do now?" Emily asked nervously, clinging to Kurtis for dear life.

"Don't panic," Kurtis said. "We need to get back down the corridor. Do you have your lighter?"

"Yeah," she said quickly.

"You're going to need it," he said. "Stay right next to me the whole time, you got it?"

Emily nodded, holding onto him tightly as he began to move around towards the corridor. The knights began to come closer, moving only at the pace that Kurtis moved. Kurtis continued to step softly, heading towards the corridor. _Only a few more steps, _he thought. _A few more…_The knights were just a few steps away. "When I give the signal, you need to use the lighter," Kurtis said calmly.

"O-Okay," Emily stammered, reaching for the lighter in her pocket.

The knights took more steps in their direction. _One…two…three…_Then Kurtis reached is arm out as they raised their swords, and he sent them flying backwards towards the opposite wall. "Now!" he directed her. Emily lit the lighter, and with the same hand, ignited a line of fire separating Emily and Kurtis from the fallen knights. She hadn't exactly intended to make a 'firewall', but it worked out anyway. Kurtis grabbed her by the arm and proceeded to drag her down the hallway. Then, he stopped abruptly, and she slammed into his back once again. Emily began to rub her head, shaking her vision clear to look up. Then, her stomach dropped at the sight of the mercenaries standing before them.

Emily glanced up at Kurtis, waiting for him to perform another heroic action to get them out safely. She stood behind him, holding onto his arm, hoping he would simply plow through the enemies and rescue them both from what was about to come. When he merely stood still without moving, Emily knew that he had no plan. They were trapped. She looked up just in time to see Karel emerging from the group of mercenaries. Then, she tucked her head back down, wishing she could disappear behind her father's shadow.

"I see you've encountered some of your old ancestors," Karel said.

"Not quite how I remembered them," Kurtis said. Emily noticed him clenching his fist. _He'd better have a plan,_ she thought nervously. _I'm working on it,_ a thought said in her head. She glanced up strangely at Kurtis, realizing it had been him communicating with her. "What do you want, Karel?"

"I'm quite sure you know what I want," Karel said simply. "But where is Lady Croft?"

"She's not here," Kurtis lied. "I decided to come alone – I figured it was the best way to get things done."

Karel raised his head, as if trying to decide whether or not to give Kurtis the benefit of the doubt. "Well, that's most unfortunate," he said. "It seems she won't be able to bid her young daughter a farewell."

"What?" Kurtis asked angrily.

"Well, don't you know?" he asked. "Emily is to play the leading role in my own cinematic adventure."

"Emily isn't going anywhere," he said in a low, threatening voice.

"And I don't suppose _you'd_ be able to stop that?" Karel asked, amused.

"I'll do whatever I have to," Kurtis said. "You're not going to touch her."

Karel stepped closer, but Kurtis didn't back away. He merely glared up at the enemy. Then, Karel reached a hand out, throwing him across the room into the wall, his body slumping to the ground. Emily gasped in fear, backing away. Karel reached his hand towards her. "We don't have all day, my dear," he chided. "If you'll come with me, it will spare the life of your father."

Emily glanced backwards at Kurtis as he lay unconscious. _Are you alright?_ she asked him telepathically. She waited for a response, but gained nothing. _Don't leave me here_,_ please…_She turned her gaze back to Karel. "I-Is he okay? Did you hurt him?"

"He's merely unconscious," Karel said.

Emily backed away fearfully. The last thing she wanted to do was go with this weirdo. She wanted to run over to Kurtis and shake him awake. She wanted him to stand up and protect her, to beat the crap out of that bastard, Karel.

Karel continued to step towards her, and Emily continued to back away until she felt the heat of the fire just behind her. "There's nowhere left to run, child," Karel pointed out. "I suggest you come with me."

Emily glanced backwards, just in time to see one of the knights raising his sword to slice down over her head. She was ready to run, but felt Karel grip her strongly by the arm and toss her backwards, away from the undead knight. She stumbled to the ground, looking up as Karel attacked the enemies with those green balls of energy. Emily glanced back towards her father, ready to run to his side, but felt her arms being gripped by the mercenaries behind her. They pulled her to her feet and gripped her strongly by the arms, holding her back. Karel turned slowly to face her. "Now, if you have no more protests, we'll move along."

The mercenaries began to drag her down the hall, but she fought as hard as she could, lunging towards Kurtis as if she would be able to break away and run to his side. "Get off of me!" she shouted, struggling to break away. "Dad, help me!" she cried. She felt tears coming to her eyes at the thought of being taken away from her parents, at the thought of being dragged off to God-knows-where for God-knows-what by this heartless bastard standing before her.

Of course, her struggles weren't much of a challenge for the merks holding onto her, but Karel must've found it irritating. He reached a hand forward, but Emily jerked her leg out, kicking him in the shin. He staggered backwards with a small groan, then looked up at her angrily. He reached his hand towards her again and touched her forehead. His hand jerked forward, and then Emily fell limp, unconscious. He held the alchemically transmuted ball of Emily's orange-glowing energy in his palm, then crushed it. "She'll awaken in several hours," Karel said. "Let's move out."

The mercenaries began to drag Emily's unconscious body down the hall and out of the corridor. Karel glanced back at Kurtis, then sent a blow of telepathic energy towards the column above. He turned away and headed down the corridor after the merks, and the column tumbled down, blocking the exit from the corridor to trap Kurtis inside.

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**DUN DUN DUN...what will happen next?! Find out on Friday!**


	18. To Cappadocia

**Well, here is the final chapter. Enjoy!**

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**Lara breathed heavily, leaning against the wall. She glanced down to see the knights struggling in the water once again. _These buggers just won't quit,_ she thought. She removed a grenade from her belt and then pulled the pin. She held it in her hands for a dangerous second, then threw it forward, demolishing the path that led to the other two hallways. _That should hold them off, at least for now,_ she thought.

Lara pushed herself off the wall, blood trickling down her arm from being sliced by one of the knights' swords. She gripped her arm to stop the bleeding, but she knew it would need to be tended to later.

She was grateful that the mercenaries hadn't come her way – perhaps they'd assumed she was already dead, battling undead knights and such. However, they'd left the Hall already – did that mean they'd gotten what they wanted? And if so, where were Kurtis and Emily? The thought stimulated Lara to move faster, and she moved along the second pathway, ignoring the cries of the skeletal nights below.

The path ahead was blocked by stone debris. She approached it, trying to peer through the cracks. Her stomach dropped when she saw Kurtis's unconscious body lying in the corner. "Kurtis!" she called. She began to brush the debris away frantically, pulling out the rocks and tossing them aside, kicking at the loose stones until she made a clearing. When the path was clear enough, Lara pulled herself through. She quickly rushed to Kurtis's side to shake him awake, glancing at the line of fire splitting the room in half and the skeletal knights beyond it. _What happened here?_ she thought.

Kurtis groaned as he slowly stirred, looking up at Lara with weary eyes. "Where's Emily?" Lara asked quickly.

Kurtis looked down, thinking for a second. Then, he pounded his fists against the ground, anger seeping through his being. He sat up and rose to his feet, staggering a bit. Lara gripped his shoulder to help him steady himself. "Kurtis, where's –"

"Karel took her," he said angrily. "He fucking came through here and took her."

Lara slowly looked away, her grip on his shoulder loosening. The only thing that mattered more than anything else was gone, and was in the hands of a madman. Kurtis glanced up at the knights beyond the line of fire, then gripped his head, shaking his vision clear. He turned towards the clearing among the debris, pulling himself through it. Lara followed after him, gripping him by the arm to stop him as he trudged forward without a word. "What are you doing?" she asked.

"What do you _think_ I'm doing?" he asked, shaking her arm off. "I'm going to get Emily back."

"How do you plan to do that, especially without even communicating with me?"

"Lara, now's not the time for your patronizing," he said, moving forward.

"I'm not patronizing you," she said angrily. "She's _our_ daughter, and we need to work together to find her."

Kurtis stopped in his path, looking into her eyes. He sighed, knowing she was right. He leaned against the wall, dropping his head with exhaustion and worry. "I'm sorry," he said softly. "It's just…I thought that if she was with me, she'd be safe, and she obviously wasn't."

"Don't beat yourself up for it," she said, placing a compassionate hand on his shoulder. "It's Karel who's going to pay." Then a thought struck her. "Did he steal your piece of the sword as well?"

Kurtis looked up at her. "No," he said. "He didn't even care about that. He just wanted Emma."

"I don't know if that's better or worse," Lara sighed. "Regardless, we need to get back to the boys at the hotel."

Kurtis leaned off the wall and continued on his way out of the temple, Lara following after him. They stepped out into the night sky of Ireland, leaving Dundermot Mound behind them. Once they reached safe ground, the earth of the mound closed itself shut, creating the façade that there hadn't been anything there at all.

* * *

  
"Ah, thank Heaven you're back," Alister said with relief as he opened the door to the downtrodden faces of Lara and Kurtis. They brushed past him quickly, heading straight towards Zip, seated at the computer desk.

"Book us flights to Cappadocia, Turkey, immediately," Lara said.

Alister cautiously approached their sides. "Did you find the sword pieces?"

"Of course we did," Lara said. "At the expense of our daughter's safety."

Lara and Kurtis simultaneously dropped their sword fragments on the table top, dropping them with an abrupt _clunk_ against the wood. Lara also removed the Lux disk from her backpack, setting it alongside the sword pieces. "Strangely enough, Karel didn't show the slightest bit of concern about the sword pieces," Lara said.

"That's odd," Alister said. "You'd think he'd be hell-bent on getting a hold of them."

"He seemed more hell-bent on getting a hold of Emily," Kurtis muttered.

"Alister, we need you to find out what you can about these sword fragments and the armor," Lara said quickly. "Kurtis and I need to head into Cappadocia to find Karel and Emily."

"But do you even have the slightest idea of where they could be?" Alister asked nervously.

"We'll find them," Lara assured him. "There are only so many places in Cappadocia where Karel could be. I want you to see what you can't find in correlation to the Nephilim and to Cappadocia as far as location."

"I'll get on it, then," Alister said, heading towards his makeshift desk to start conducting research. Lara turned away and headed into hers and Kurtis's room through the adjacent door. She started tossing her clothing into the nearby suitcase, stimulated by anger at Karel and fear on behalf of her daughter. _If we don't get out of here soon,_ Lara thought, _I'm going to lose my mind._

She heard the door open behind her and looked up to see Kurtis entering, running his fingers through his hair. He sighed loudly, seating himself on the edge of the bed, leaning into his hands. "The most contact I've ever made with my daughter is taken away from me by that son-of-a-bitch," he muttered.

Lara angrily zipped the suitcase shut. "I don't think he quite understands whom he's messing with."

Kurtis wriggled his hands nervously. "What kind of chance do we stand…?" he muttered, barely audible.

Lara looked up at him with confusion. "What did you say?"

Kurtis stood up angrily. "Lara, it's Karel! What the fuck are we going to do to stop him? Whatever he wants from Emily, he's going to get it!"

"You're giving up? On our daughter?" Lara asked hollowly. She stared past him, struck by his defeat. Kurtis glared at her, hurt by her accusation, but then turned away. He leaned towards the wall, pounding his fists against the plaster. Lara was too angry with him to console him. How could he be acting this way? How could he be giving up on Emily in such a way?

Lara turned away, letting her anger slowly sink away. Then, she faced Kurtis again. She glanced down at the shimmer reflecting off of the Chirugai that still lay on the ground from the night before. Lara slowly bent down next to it and tenderly picked it up. She placed a hand on his shoulder. "I'm not giving up," she said quietly. "Not on her, and certainly not on you."

Kurtis slowly turned towards her, and she raised the Chirugai up. He stared down at it as if he didn't recognize it. Then, he slowly reached forward, taking the foreign weapon into his hands. He slowly met Lara's gaze, drawing in a silent, deep breath. She stared into his hurt blue eyes, then leaned forward, kissing his lips. She pulled away, looking up at him."We're going to do this," she said quietly. "Just like old times – you and me, together."

* * *

  
The rumbling noise beneath where she laid stirred Emily back to consciousness. She groaned as she reached a hand up to her head, her vision slowly clearing. She felt something heavy on her wrists, and glanced down to see that she was handcuffed. A long metal chain streamed down from the middle of the link of the handcuffs to a floor panel down below. _Great, I'm on a leash,_ she thought.

Emily glanced about the room. There were a few windows in the corners, some dingy curtains covering them, and a small makeshift table in the back corner. She was lying on a small cot, a stiff pillow and crinkly sheets below her. When she let the entire scene sink in, she realized she was on a train. She quickly sat up and reached for the curtains of the window that was just over her bed. Outside, she could see endless desert in the distance and a hot sun above. What had happened?

Then, she remembered. She had been with her father in Dundermot, fighting off undead skeletal nights. Then, Karel came, knocked Kurtis unconscious, and kidnapped her. What had happened after that? Emily quickly reached for her lighter, but found that it had been confiscated. She was powerless now.

Emily pulled the chain as far as it would go, reaching towards the window above the bed. She began smacking the metal of the handcuffs against the plated glass, hoping it would break – for what? She obviously couldn't run away…

The door at the end of the hall opened, and a mercenary stepped inside, holding his rifle towards her. "Knock it off," he muttered angrily. Emily glared at him, then turned back to the window, banging on it with the hope that it would open. The mercenary approached her and quickly backhanded her with the butt of his rifle. She fell against the bed, gripping her face where she could feel blood pooling at her mouth. She continued to glare up at the man, not possessing fear like she usually would. This time around, she only felt angry – she wanted revenge for her mother, her father, and herself. She lurched herself forward in the effort to attack the man with the gun, forgetting that she was chained down to the bed. She heard the mercenary scoff, keeping his gun level with her head.

"That's enough," a voice said from the other room. Emily looked up to see Karel stepping into the room, a calm look on his face. Emily glared up at him. "You," she bellowed. "What are you doing? What do you want with me?"

Karel gestured for the mercenary to leave the room. He nodded and backed away, closing the door behind him. Emily had felt confident moments ago with the mercenary, but Karel was another story. Emily scooted into the far corner of the bed, trying to keep a steady glare into his eyes. Karel, however, was not intimidated. He approached the far window, gazing out. "What do you know about the Nephilim race?"

"That you tried to kill my parents to bring it back," Emily said.

"That's only half of the story," he said. "We Nephilim have only ever been trying to survive. Do you know what that's like, Emily? To have to go day by day, changing your appearance just to make sure you can live another twenty-four hours? Do you know what it's like to be alone?"

Emily glared at him. "Now I do," she said. "You took me away from my parents. You _kidnapped _me."

He casually faced her. "You are to serve a grand purpose in my plan," he said.

"What plan?" she asked.

"In order to bring back the Nephilim, I will need to locate the Black Angel."

"The Black Angel?" Emily asked. "He's Lux Veritatis. Why would he help _you_?"

"If I awaken him, he will be under my command. Once I have the Black Angel on my side, the Nephilim race will continue to thrive once more. We will have nothing to fear."

"What does all of this have to do with me and my parents?" she asked impatiently.

Karel seated himself at the table. "I have witnessed your powers, Emily, and I am quite impressed."

"Thanks," she said hollowly. "Would you like to see them again?"

He narrowed his eyes at her. "You talk too much for someone so small."

"What do you know?" she muttered.

"The Black Angel is useless right now. I can only imagine how he'd be with powers like those that you exhibit…"

Emily looked up at him nervously. "What do you mean?" she asked slowly. "You want…you want to take my powers…?"

"And give them to him, yes," he said. "So you see, young girl, your life will serve a purpose far beyond anything you could've imagined. You should be honored, not afraid."

Emily felt her courage slipping away. "You're a sadist," she said with a shaky voice. "My mom and dad are going to find you and kill you."

"Like the times they did so before, correct?" he asked with amusement. "Your parents are the least of my concerns. Once we reach our destination and find the Black Angel, you and your parents will be powerless against my army of Nephilim."

Emily felt tears coming to her eyes. "You're not going to get away with this, Karel…"

"On the contrary, my dear," he said casually. "There is nothing in my way any longer. And if you think for a moment that your parents will be able to rescue you, well…they won't. The only thing you can do at this point is sit still and wait to serve your destiny."

Karel rose from the table and approached the door to leave the room. He stopped, glancing back at Emily. "You should be thankful," he said. "Perhaps the Black Angel will spare your life once you've been so noble to him." Then, he turned away, leaving the room as he closed the door behind him.

Emily covered her face. _I'm not going to cry,_ she thought. But she felt tears streaming down her cheeks. Perhaps the worst part of this wasn't being kidnapped, dragged away, and having her powers be sucked dry – it was the thought that she wouldn't get to see her father, whom she'd only known for a few days, and she wouldn't get to apologize to her mother for running away into this mess in the first place.

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**You guys know how I love cliffies...well anyways!! THANK YOU FOR ALL THE REVIEWS!!! I will update part 4 on October 1!! Catch ya then! =D**


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